Chui PW, Gordon KS, Dziura J, et al. - Researchers utilized VA electronic health record data to determine how opioid use influences the incidence of modifiable cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. They found 308,015 Veterans after eliminating prevalent CVD risk factors. Opioids were prescribed to 12,725 (4.1%) Veterans during the first year of observation, including 2,028 (0.6%) with long-term exposure. The likelihood of having CVD risk factors was more among Veterans with opioid use vs those without opioid use. A higher risk of having hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, current smoking status, and obesity was observed in Veterans with long-term exposure. A higher risk of current smoking status was reported in relation to long-term exposure vs short-term exposure. These results indicated a potential advantage to screening as well as monitoring of CVD risk factors for patients who are prescribed opioids, particularly long-term opioid treatment.