ArticleEClinicalMedicine2021
Global consumption of prescription opioid analgesics between 2009-2019: a country-level observational study.
Article in EClinicalMedicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 86 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
86 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 146 citations in OpenAlex.
- Risk of New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation in Opioid Users: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on 24,006,367 Participants.Drug safety · 2025Pooled it
- Opioid-Associated Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting in Women Undergoing Laparoscopic Hysterectomy: A Network Meta-Analysis.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Pooled it
- Multimorbidity and analgesic-related harms: a systematic review.British journal of anaesthesia · 2025Pooled it
- Multi-ancestry genome-wide association study of cannabis use disorder yields insight into disease biology and public health implications.Nature genetics · 2023Pooled it
- The therapeutic effect of N-acetylcysteine as an add-on to methadone maintenance therapy medication in outpatients with substance use disorders: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.Brain and behavior · 2023Trial
- Expectations and communication in opioid pain management: a qualitative study of patients' experience.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Feasibility of a Monthly Morphine Milligram Equivalent Metric for Opioid Surveillance Using the National Claims Database of Japan: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study in a Low-Consumption Setting.Therapeutic innovation & regulatory science · 2026Article
- Comparison of essential drug lists: concordance, differences, and the need for core lists in times of crisis.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026Article
- Opioid use after breast cancer in Denmark: a nationwide study of social and clinical factors.Journal of the National Cancer Institute · 2026Article
- The nociceptor primary cilium.Brain : a journal of neurology · 2026Review
- Safety Assessment of Perioperative Pain Medications for Children: Variation in Opioid Prescribing at Discharge.Annals of surgery open : perspectives of surgical history, education, and clinical approaches · 2026Article
- Awareness about opioids crisis, policies and regulation of opioid stewardship at hospitals settings: a nationwide cross-sectional study among healthcare professionals from Pakistan.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2026Article
- The identification of potent nonopioid analgesics and their potential for perioperative use.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Intoxication in Children From Opioids Prescribed to Family Members.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Postoperative Prescription Patterns After Sleep Surgery: An International Provider Survey Study.Laryngoscope investigative otolaryngology · 2026Article
- Prevalence of Opioid Use and Associated Healthcare Outcomes in Rome IV Irritable Bowel Syndrome in the United Kingdom.Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics · 2026Article
- Pain medication and nerve injuries in upper or lower limb-a Swedish national registry study.Pain reports · 2026Article
- Pharmacoepidemiology of Oxycodone in the USA: An Observational Study of ARCOS, Medicaid, and Medicare Drug Databases.Pharmacology research & perspectives · 2026Observational
- Prescription opioid discontinuation and mortality due to suicide or unintentional overdose.Pain · 2026Article
- Article
26 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOpioid analgesics play a key role in pain management but providing access while mitigating risk of misuse and dependence remains a challenge. Tracking global consumption of all opioids over time can help identify emerging patterns and drivers of use.
methodsPrescription opioid analgesic consumption was estimated for 76 countries between 2009 and 2019 using IQVIA MIDAS data. We reported country-level consumption trends in morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs), assessed differences in consumption between high-income (HICs), upper-middle income (UMICs), and low- and lower-middle income countries (LMICs), and identified country-level socioeconomic drivers of consumption using fixed-effects panel regression models.
findingsGlobal opioid consumption rate declined from 216·3 to 151·5 morphine milligram equivalents per 1,000 inhabitants per day (MID) between 2009 and 2019, with consumption declines in the US and Germany. Overall, consumption rates increased in HICs by a median 36·6 MID (IQR, -7·5 -124·5) with substantial heterogeneity between countries. Median consumption rates were lower in UMICs (23·6 MID) and LMICs (8·3 MID) compared to HICs (345·1 MID) and increased by median 10·4 and 3·7 MID from 2009-2019, respectively. Consumption rates were associated with income (coefficient 18·84, 95% confidence interval 3·8-33·9) and trade (13·59, 1·3-25·8) in UMICs, and physician density (1·95, 1·2-2·7) in LMICs. Tramadol consumption rate increased in the study period and accounted for a relatively large proportion of total opioid volume consumed across all country-income groups.
interpretationSubstantial heterogeneity in global opioid consumption patterns reflect the challenges involved with providing adequate access to opioid treatment while avoiding potential misuse.
Identifiers
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Registered trials
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.