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Sports participation in adolescence may reduce risk for opioid, heroin use

From 1997 to 2014, nonmedical prescription opioid and heroin use declined among adolescents engaged in sports and exercise, suggesting that sports participation may serve as a protective factor.

“Although [nonmedical prescription opioid use] among adolescents has decreased in recent years, there are concerns that adolescents and young adults are moving toward heroin because of its greater availability and affordability in relation to prescription opioids,” Philip Veliz, PhD, of University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and colleagues wrote. “In particular, adolescents who participate in athletics may be at a greater risk to engage in [nonmedical prescription opioid use] because of their greater risk of injury or because of a greater opportunity to receive diverted opioid medications from teammates.”

Philip Veliz

To assess trends in prevalence rates and patterns of initiation in lifetime nonmedical prescription opioid use and heroin use among adolescents involved in sports and exercise, researchers evaluated 18 cross-sections of eighth and tenth graders from the Monitoring the Future study. The cohort included 191,682 participants.

Among adolescents engaged in sports an exercise, lifetime nonmedical prescription opioid use declined from 10.1% in 1997-1999 to 5% in 2012-2014. Lifetime heroin use declined from 2.3% to 1%.

Adolescents who participated in sports and exercise almost every day were less likely to report nonmedical prescription opioid use (adjusted OR = 0.73; 95% CI, 0.67-0.79) and lifetime heroin use (aOR = 0.71; 95% CI, 0.59-0.85), compared with those who did not participate in sports and exercise at all. The same was true for adolescents who engaged in sports and exercise at most once a week.

Further, adolescents who participated in sports and exercise almost every day or at most once a week were less likely to report past-year nonmedical prescription opioid use or heroin use, compared with those who did not

“The analyses found that trends in both lifetime [nonmedical prescription opioid use]and heroin use among adolescents involved in sports and exercise, along with adolescents who were not involved in these activities, has declined at a similar pace between 1997 and 2014,” the researchers wrote. “Future study designs should examine sport type to determine whether athletes in high-contact sports are at a greater risk of transitioning from [nonmedical prescription opioid use] to heroin use because of their higher risk of injury and exposure to prescription opioids.” – by Amanda Oldt

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.