{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,4]],"date-time":"2026-04-04T23:56:57Z","timestamp":1775347017861,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,6]],"date-time":"2024-11-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1730851200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["European Journal of Pain"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Chronic pain is among the leading causes of disability worldwide, of which only a small percentage of patients receive adequate treatment for. Non\u2010prescribed opioid analgesics are commonly sought out in effort to alleviate unrelieved pain. This study assesses the prevalence and correlates of chronic pain among primary fentanyl users.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>A cross\u2010sectional and structured survey was conducted with 200 adults who reported fentanyl as their drug of choice from a Vancouver acute care hospital. Presence and levels of chronic pain were determined through self\u2010report.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>The majority of participants (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u2009130, 72.6%) reported having chronic pain in the past 6\u2009months, with the mean level of pain on a typical day to be 7.6 out of a scale of 10 (<jats:italic>SD<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20091.9). Majority (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u200985, 65.4%) reported using street opioids to self\u2010medicate, while only 9 (6.9%) reported that their chronic pain was unrelated. Regression analysis indicated that increasing age and co\u2010use of cannabis and opioids were independent associated factors of chronic pain. Higher levels of reported pain on a typical day were further associated with age and self\u2010medication.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title><jats:p>The findings of this study demonstrate a significant association between self\u2010medication and chronic pain among primary fentanyl users in British Columbia. For these individuals, inadequate pain relief may drive continued opioid use, which in turn may increase risks of treatment discontinuation and overdose. Appropriate pain management strategies are crucial to avoid opioid misuse and decrease the large societal burden caused by chronic pain.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Significance<\/jats:title><jats:p>Our work points to the high prevalence of self\u2010reported chronic pain among individuals who primarily use fentanyl. Among those with self\u2010reported fentanyl use and chronic pain, self\u2010medication with street opioids was found to be common and associated with higher reported pain levels on a typical day. This highlights the need for pain management strategies to be integrated into opioid dependence treatment and more research in the overlap of pain and fentanyl use.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1002\/ejp.4753","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,6]],"date-time":"2024-11-06T11:15:11Z","timestamp":1730891711000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Chronic pain among primary fentanyl users: The concept of self\u2010medication"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"29","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-7473-1617","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jane J.","family":"Kim","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry University of British Columbia  Vancouver Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Dianah","family":"Hayati","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry University of British Columbia  Vancouver Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Milad","family":"Zamany","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry University of British Columbia  Vancouver Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Fiona","family":"Choi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry University of British Columbia  Vancouver Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kerry","family":"Jang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry University of British Columbia  Vancouver Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Martha","family":"Ignaszewski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry University of British Columbia  Vancouver Canada"},{"name":"Complex Pain and Addiction Service Vancouver General Hospital, DHCC  Vancouver Canada"},{"name":"BC Children's Hospital  Vancouver British Columbia Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Pouya","family":"Azar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry University of British Columbia  Vancouver Canada"},{"name":"Complex Pain and Addiction Service Vancouver General Hospital, DHCC  Vancouver Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Michael","family":"Krausz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry University of British Columbia  Vancouver Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_8_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.drugpo.2019.01.015"},{"key":"e_1_2_8_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jsat.2021.108418"},{"key":"e_1_2_8_4_1","unstructured":"BC Coroners Service. 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