Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35578167›Full record

ArticleBMC geriatrics2022

Prescription opioids among older adults: ten years of data across five countries.

A Hamina, A E Muller, T Clausen, S Skurtveit, M Hesse, C Tjagvad, B Thylstrup, I Odsbu, H Zoega, H L Jónsdóttir and 1 more

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Article in BMC geriatrics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

8 citing papers in PubMed.

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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

11 authors.

A HaminaNorwegian Centre for Addiction Research (SERAF), Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, PO Box 1171, 0218, Oslo, Norway. aleksi.hamina@medisin.uio.no.
A E MullerDivision of Reviews and Health Technology Assessments, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
T ClausenNorwegian Centre for Addiction Research (SERAF), Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, PO Box 1171, 0218, Oslo, Norway.
S SkurtveitNorwegian Centre for Addiction Research (SERAF), Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, PO Box 1171, 0218, Oslo, Norway.
M HesseCenter for Alcohol and Drug Research, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
C TjagvadNorwegian Centre for Addiction Research (SERAF), Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, PO Box 1171, 0218, Oslo, Norway.
B ThylstrupCenter for Alcohol and Drug Research, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
I OdsbuDepartment of Mental Disorders, Division of Mental and Physical Health, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
H ZoegaCentre for Big Data Research in Health, Faculty of Medicine & Health, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
H L JónsdóttirCentre of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
H TaipaleSchool of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOpioid use has increased globally in the recent decade. Although pain remains a significant problem among older adults, susceptibility to opioid-related harms highlights the importance of careful opioid therapy monitoring on individual and societal levels. We aimed to describe the trends of prescription opioid utilisation among residents aged ≥65 in all Nordic countries during 2009-2018.

methodsWe conducted cross-sectional measurements of opioid utilisation in 2009-2018 from nationwide registers of dispensed drugs in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The measures included annual opioid prevalence, defined daily doses (DDDs) per 1000 inhabitants per day (DIDs), and morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs) per user per day.

resultsFrom 2009 to 2018, an average of 808,584 of adults aged ≥65 used opioids yearly in all five countries; an average annual prevalence of 17.0%. During this time period, the prevalence decreased in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden due to declining codeine and/or tramadol use. Iceland had the highest opioid prevalence in 2009 (30.2%), increasing to 31.7% in 2018. In the same period, DIDs decreased in all five countries, and ranged from 28.3 in Finland to 58.5 in Denmark in 2009, and from 23.0 in Finland to 54.6 in Iceland in 2018. MMEs/user/day ranged from 4.4 in Iceland to 19.6 in Denmark in 2009, and from 4.6 in Iceland to 18.8 in Denmark in 2018. In Finland, Norway, and Sweden, MMEs/user/day increased from 2009 to 2018, mainly due to increasing oxycodone utilisation.

conclusionsThe stable or decreasing opioid utilisation prevalence among a majority of older adults across the Nordic countries coincides with an increase in treatment intensity in 2009-2018. We found large cross-national differences despite similarities across the countries' cultures and healthcare systems. For the aged population, national efforts should be placed on improving pain management and monitoring future trends of especially oxycodone utilisation.

Indexed as

Analgesics, OpioidOxycodoneAgedCross-Sectional StudiesDrug PrescriptionsHumansAnalgesics, OpioidOxycodoneNordic countriesOlder adultsOpioidsPharmacoepidemiology

Identifiers

PMID35578167
PMCPMC9112605

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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.