"Hidden in the Epidemic: Opioid-Induced Adrenal Insufficiency" - Miriam E. Tucker
Opioid-induced adrenal insufficiency is a potentially serious and under-recognized danger from chronic opioid use that is likely to be on the rise given the current opioid epidemic, new research suggests. Chronic opioid use can lead to adrenal insufficiency through central suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. A recent review found that the estimated prevalence ranges from 9 percent to 29 percent of chronic opioid users. Gregory Dodell, MD, assistant clinical professor of medicine, endocrinology, diabetes and bone disease at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai who was not involved in the research said, "I haven't really seen it, but probably because we're not screening for it. If someone comes in with chronic pain on opioids you may have the sense that their symptoms are related to chronic pain or opioid use, not adrenal insufficiency.”
— Gregory Dodell, MD, Assistant Clinical Professor, Medicine, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai