Study: Nearly 5 percent of Mass. residents struggle with opioid abuse

BOSTON — Nearly 5 percent of adults and older children in Massachusetts are addicted to opioids.

The specific percentage revealed in a new study – 4.6 – translates to more than 275,000 people in the Bay State struggling with opioid addiction.

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The study’s authors looked at six databases for 2011 to 2012 and seven databases from 2013 to 2015 to study the prevalence of opioid use disorder.

It found 4.6 percent of people 11 years old and older were struggling with opioid use disorder by 2015 in Massachusetts.

The study, funded by the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Boston University's Medical School, was published online Thursday in the American Journal of Public Health.

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Cox Media Group