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about three out of every ten people between the ages of fifty- seven and eighty-five have at least five different prescriptions. They also may see different doctors who can prescribe medications that are dangerous in combination. The body also changes with age and risk of addiction or overdose increases even if the person has been taking a drug safely for a long time. Projections of painkiller risk aren’t good for older Americans. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reported that more than 2 percent of older Americans are projected to abuse painkillers by 2020, twice the number abusing the drugs in 2004. SAMHSA based its projections on analysis of data from the federal government’s Medicare health care program that revealed that more than half a million older people on Medicare received high amounts of opioids. The Some patients suffer from long-term health conditions or diseases that force them to live with chronic pain for months or years. Chronic pain can be caused by inflammations of tissue (for example, arthritis), or by damage to nerves caused by diseases like diabetes. Sometimes, the cause of chronic pain can’t be determined. Increased use of opioids to treat chronic pain was an important contributor to the current epidemic.

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Who Uses Painkillers?