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Master of Public Health

JAMA: MPH’s Ray lead author on VUMC study pointing to other death risks from opioids

Posted by on Wednesday, June 15, 2016 in News .

Deaths from prescribed opioids may be higher than previously known, according to a study from Vanderbilt University Medical Center with lead author Wayne Ray, that found that users had an increased risk of cardiovascular death.

Long-lasting opioids, often used to treat chronic pain such as back pain, led to a 64 percent increase in the risk of death and a 65 percent increase in the risk of cardiovascular death, according to the study, released Tuesday in the medical journal JAMA.