Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28026706›Full record

ArticleCanadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique2016

Patterns and trends in long-term opioid use for non-cancer pain in British Columbia, 2005-2012.

Kate Smolina, Emilie J Gladstone, Kimberly Rutherford, Steven G Morgan

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
1.5field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Trends in prescription opioid use for pain in Canada: a population-based repeated cross-sectional study of 6 provinces.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2025
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
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  9. Patterns of pain medication use associated with reported pain interference in older adults with and without cancer.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2020
    Article
  10. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Kate SmolinaSchool of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC. kate.smolina@ubc.ca.
Emilie J Gladstone
Kimberly Rutherford
Steven G Morgan
University of British Columbia · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesWe aimed to calculate trends in incidence and prevalence rates of long-term opioid use for non-cancer pain, as well as to describe the characteristics of long-term opioid users and their patterns of opioid use.

methodsWe used population-based linked health care and socio-demographic administrative data for British Columbia (BC) between 2005 and 2012. We included individuals who had at least one episode of long-term opioid use during the study period and who were not cancer or palliative care patients.

resultsLong-term users comprised only 10% of all individuals prescribed opioids for non-cancer pain, but accounted for 64% of all opioid prescriptions and 87% of all morphine equivalents dispensed in BC during this period. While the incidence rate did not significantly change, the prevalence rate increased by 27% for men and 22% for women. In 2012, there were 3.80 (3.72-3.88) new long-term opioid users per 1,000 men and 4.42 (4.34-4.51) new users per 1,000 women. At the same time, there were 18.3 (95% CI 18.1-18.5) existing long-term users per 1,000 men and 21.7 users (95% CI 21.5-21.9) per 1,000 women. Overall, 2.4% of BC residents were long-term users of prescription opioids in 2012. Most long-term users had one continuous episode of use spanning multiple years. Almost two thirds took opioids every other day or more frequently.

conclusionThere is a growing population of long-term opioid users for non-cancer pain in BC, with higher incidence and prevalence rates observed among women than among men.

Indexed as

AdultAgedAnalgesics, OpioidBritish ColumbiaChronic PainDrug PrescriptionsFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedSex DistributionTime FactorsAnalgesics, Opioid

Identifiers

PMID28026706
PMCPMC6972133
OpenAlexW2562465657

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.