Opioid use disorder-related emergency department visits among deaf or hard of hearing adults in the United States

Abstract

Background: Despite the devastating consequences of the opioid epidemic, little is known about its impact on the deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) community. Objective: To determine risk of OUD-related ED visits, ED visits involving a prescription or non-prescription opioid overdose, and mortality during OUD-related ED visits among DHH adults, compared to non-DHH adults. Methods: We analyzed the combined 2016–2017 National Emergency Department Sample (NEDS). We identified DHH adults using ICD-10-CM codes, extracting 63,865 case records of ED visits among DHH adults ages 18–64. The control group of non-DHH adult ED visits was age-, sex-, and admission year-matched in a 1:3 case-control ratio. We conducted multi-level logistic regression models for the binary dependent variables. Covariates included sociodemographic, hospital, and clinical characteristics. Results: In our unadjusted models, compared to non-DHH adults, DHH adults had significantly higher risk for OUD-related ED visits (OR = 1.69, 95%CI: 1.59–1.80, p < 0.001), ED visits involving prescription (OR = 1.80, 95%CI: 1.47–2.20, p < 0.001) and non-prescription opioid overdose (OR = 1.31, 95%CI: 1.05–1.63, p < 0.05), and mortality during OUD-related ED visits (OR = 2.22, 95%CI: 1.21–4.08, p < 0.05). However, after adjustment for confounding variables, including comorbid chronic pain and psychiatric conditions, except OUD-related ED visits, the risk for ED visits involving prescription and non-prescription opioid overdose, and OUD-related mortality became non-significant. Conclusions: Compared to adults without hearing loss, DHH non-elderly adults are at a higher risk of OUD-related ED visits. Future research is needed to understand the interplay between chronic pain, psychiatric conditions, and OUD among DHH adults.