Study: Opioid Crisis In Mass. May Be More Far-Reaching Than Originally Believed

A new study by researchers at Boston Medical Center finds that the opioid crisis may be hitting far more people in Massachusetts than previously estimated.

The group's analysis finds that 4.6 percent — 275,000 people — older than 11 had opioid use disorder in 2015, which is nearly four times higher than previous estimates.

Infectious disease physician Joshua Barocas of Boston Medical Center, who led the study, spoke to Morning Edition about the findings.

Correction: An earlier version of this post called the study a survey in the headline and in the story. The post has been updated. We regret the error.