# Trajectories of Prescription Nonmedical Drug Misuse

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2024 · $431,941

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
In response to RFA-DA-22-037: Accelerating the Pace of Drug Abuse Research Using Existing Data, this
competing continuation (renewal) "Trajectories of Nonmedical Prescription Drug Misuse" builds on our
prior R01 and will combine national panel data with other national data sources (eg, death records) to
assess longitudinal relationships among trajectories of medical use of prescription drugs, nonmedical
prescription drug misuse (PDM), other drug use, polysubstance use (PSU), substance use disorder (SUD)
symptoms, drug overdose death, and all-cause mortality from adolescence up to older adulthood. This renewal
will focus on prescription opioids, sedatives/tranquilizers, and stimulants because most US adults are
prescribed these medications over their lifespan, all have high misuse potential, and there have been important
changes in the prescribing of these medications (eg, major increases in opioid prescribing from 1990 to 2010
followed by sharp declines and major increases in stimulant therapy among US middle-aged and older adults).
Prospective studies are needed to examine whether the discontinuation, initiation, or developmental timing of
medical use of prescription drugs are associated with increased adverse consequences. US drug overdose
deaths reached an all-time high in 2021, and most are PSU-involved. An important literature gap, as over 90%
of PDM is PSU-involved, is the lack of national studies examining the longitudinal relationships between
trajectories of medical use of prescription drugs and PDM or other drug use. We propose secondary analyses
using the Monitoring the Future (MTF) panel data which features over 40 independent cohorts of 103,957 high
school seniors (modal age 18) who completed biennial follow-ups to ages 29-30 and follow-ups every five
years to age 60, resulting in up to 13 waves. The MTF panel data and other linked sources (eg, National Death
Index) provide a unique opportunity for innovative analysis to examine associations and risk/protective factors
from adolescence up to older adulthood. This renewal aims to: (1) identify the temporal ordering of medical use
of prescription opioids, sedatives/tranquilizers, and stimulants, and other drug use (eg, PDM) from
adolescence up to older adulthood (age 60); (2) examine longitudinal associations between trajectories of
medical use of prescription drugs, PDM and adverse consequences (eg, all-cause mortality, drug overdose
death, SUD symptoms) up to older adulthood; (3) assess if adults who discontinue or initiate medical use of
prescription opioids, sedatives/ tranquilizers, or stimulants are more likely to transition to PDM and adverse
consequences; and (4) determine the individual, relationship, community, and societal, risk and protective
factors of high-risk trajectories of medical use of prescription drugs and PDM using a developmental social-
ecological model. For all aims, we will examine variations by age, cohort, sex, race/ethnicity, and e...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10898401
- **Project number:** 2R01DA031160-10A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** SEAN ESTEBAN MCCABE
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $431,941
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2011-04-01 → 2028-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10898401

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10898401, Trajectories of Prescription Nonmedical Drug Misuse (2R01DA031160-10A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10898401. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*