ArticleAlcoholism, clinical and experimental research2020
Safety of Gabapentin Prescribed for Any Indication in a Large Clinical Cohort of 571,718 US Veterans with and without Alcohol Use Disorder.
Article in Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 39 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pregabalin vs. gabapentin in the treatment of neuropathic pain: a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of effectiveness and safety.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2024Pooled it
- Pilot RCT comparing low-dose naltrexone, gabapentin and placebo to reduce pain among people with HIV with alcohol problems.PloS one · 2024Trial
- Pilot randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial of high-dose gabapentin for alcohol use disorder.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2021Trial
- Effects of Opioids, Benzodiazepines, Gabapentinoids, and Antidepressants on Fracture Risk in Alcohol-Related Cirrhosis.Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver · 2026Article
- Distinguishing retrospective fallers from nonfallers in people who use a unilateral lower-limb prosthesis.Prosthetics and orthotics international · 2026Article
- Comparative effectiveness of gabapentin and pregabalin on reduction in alcohol use: A nationwide observational cohort study.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Patterns and Characteristics of Gabapentin Use Among Medicare Beneficiaries.Drugs & aging · 2025Article
- Gabapentin Treatment Patterns Among Older Patients After Hospital Discharge for Acute Ischemic Stroke.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025Article
- The 2016 CDC Opioid Guideline and Analgesic Prescribing Patterns in Older Adults With Cancer.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- α2δ-2 regulates synaptic GluK1 kainate receptors in Purkinje cells and motor coordination.Brain : a journal of neurology · 2025Article
- α2δ-1-Linked NMDA and AMPA Receptors in Neuropathic Pain and Gabapentinoid Action.Journal of neurochemistry · 2025Review
- Gabapentinoid use and the risk of fractures in patients with inflammatory arthritis: nested case-control study in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink Aurum.BMC medicine · 2024Article
- The Association of Gabapentin Initiation with Cognitive and Behavioral Changes in Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Drugs & aging · 2024Article
- Which older adults are at highest risk of prescribing cascades? A national study of the gabapentinoid-loop diuretic cascade.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2024Article
- Concurrent Gabapentin and Opioid Use and Risk of Mortality in Medicare Recipients with Non-Cancer Pain.Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics · 2023Article
- Crosstalk of Mast Cells and Natural Killer Cells with Neurons in Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Persistent sensory changes and sex differences in transgenic mice conditionally expressing HIV-1 Tat regulatory protein.Experimental neurology · 2022Article
- Functional Impairment and Cognitive Symptoms Among People with HIV Infection on Chronic Opioid Therapy for Pain: The Impact of Gabapentin and Other Sedating Medications.AIDS and behavior · 2022Article
- Potentially inappropriate medication use by level of polypharmacy among US Veterans 49-64 and 65-70 years old.Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety · 2022Article
- Longitudinal analysis of the prevalence and correlates of heavy episodic drinking and self-reported opioid use among a national cohort of patients with HIV.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundGabapentin is prescribed for seizures and pain and has efficacy for treating alcohol use disorder (AUD) starting at doses of 900 milligrams per day (mg/d). Recent evidence suggests safety concerns associated with gabapentin including adverse neurologic effects. Individuals with hepatitis C (HCV), HIV, or AUD may be at increased risk due to comorbidities and potential medication interactions.
methodsWe identified patients prescribed gabapentin for ≥ 60 days for any indication between 2002 and 2015. We propensity-score matched each gabapentin-exposed patient with up to 5 gabapentin-unexposed patients. We followed patients for 2 years or until diagnosed with (i) falls or fractures, or (ii) altered mental status using validated ICD-9 diagnostic codes. We used Poisson regression to estimate incidence rates and relative risk (RR) of these adverse events in association with gabapentin exposure overall and stratified by age, race/ethnicity, sex, HCV, HIV, AUD, and dose.
resultsIncidence of falls or fractures was 1.81 per 100 person-years (PY) among 140,310 gabapentin-exposed and 1.34/100 PY among 431,408 gabapentin-unexposed patients (RR 1.35, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.28 to 1.44). Incidence of altered mental status was 1.08/100 PY among exposed and 0.97/100 PY among unexposed patients, RR of 1.12 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.20). Excess risk of falls or fractures associated with gabapentin exposure was observed in all subgroups except patients with HCV, HIV, or AUD; however, these groups had elevated incidence regardless of exposure. There was a clear dose-response relationship for falls or fractures with highest risk observed among those prescribed ≥ 2,400 mg/d (RR 1.90, 95% CI 1.50 to 2.40). Patients were at increased risk for altered mental status at doses 600 to 2,399 mg/d; however, low number of events in the highest dose category limited power to detect a statistically significant association ≥ 2,400 mg/d.
conclusionsGabapentin is associated with falls or fractures and altered mental status. Clinicians should be monitoring gabapentin safety, especially at doses ≥ 600 mg/d, in patients with and without AUD.
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