• Ayodeji Otufowora, Yiyang Liu, Aderonke Okusanya, Afeez Ogidan, Adedoyin Okusanya, and Linda B Cottler.
• From the Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY (A Otufowora); Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health and Health Professions, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (YL, LBC); Department of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Western New England University, Springfield, MA (A Okusanya); Department of Medicine & Surgery, Obafemi Awolowo College of Health Sciences, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Sagamu Campus, Ogun State, Nigeria (A Ogidan); Department of Public Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC (A Okusanya). ao2895@cumc.columbia.edu.
• J Am Board Fam Med. 2024 Mar 11; 37 (1): 118128118-128.

IntroductionGiven the high sedative prescription rate, the sedative-associated morbidity, and mortality nationally (especially among veterans), we aimed to test the hypothesis that veteran status in the presence of chronic pain would be associated with greater sedative use when compared with nonveteran status.MethodsThe study participants were recruited by Community Health Workers (CHWs) through the ongoing community engagement program (HealthStreet) at the University of Florida. CHWs collected information on sociodemographic factors, health status, and past 30-day drug use patterns.ResultsThe study sample comprised 4,732 male participants, of which 21% were veterans, 58% were Blacks and 8.4% had used prescription sedatives in the past 30 days. Veterans (vs nonveterans) were twice as likely to have used prescription sedatives in the past 30 days in the presence of chronic pain.ConclusionsVeterans with chronic pain are a high-risk population for current prescription sedative use.© Copyright by the American Board of Family Medicine.

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