Observational studyPsychogeriatrics : the official journal of the Japanese Psychogeriatric Society2024
Observational evidence linking psychotropic medicines to the dispensing of opioid agents in later life.
Observational study in Psychogeriatrics : the official journal of the Japanese Psychogeriatric Society, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed, 0 citations in OpenAlex.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe use of opioid medicines is common in developed countries, particularly among older adults and those with mental health disorders. It is unclear if the association between mental disorders and opioid medicines is causal, or is due to reverse causality or confounding.
methodsWe used a 10% random sample of the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (years 2012-2022) to examine the cross-sectional, case-control and longitudinal association between the dispensing of antidepressants, anxiolytics, hypnotics, antipsychotics and lithium, and opioid medicines. We used logistic regression, structural equation models (SEM), and Cox regression to analyze the data. Analyses were adjusted for age (years), sex, and number of non-psychotropic medicines dispensed during the year.
resultsThe 2022 file contained 804 334 individuals aged 50 years or over (53.1% women), of whom 181 690 (22.6%) received an opioid medicine. The adjusted odds ratio of being dispensed opioid medicines was 1.44 (99% CI = 1.42-1.46) for antidepressants, 1.97 (99% CI = 1.92-2.03) for anxiolytics, 1.55 (99% CI = 1.51-1.60) for hypnotics, 1.32 (99% CI = 1.27-1.38) for antipsychotics, and 0.60 (99% CI = 0.53-0.69) for lithium. Similar associations were noticed when we compared participants who were or not dispensed opioid medicines in 2022 for exposure to psychotropic agents between 2012 and 2021. SEM confirmed that this association was not due to reverse causality. The dispensing of antidepressants was associated with increased adjusted hazard (HR) of subsequent dispensing of opioid medicines (HR = 1.29, 99% CI = 1.27-1.30). Similar associations were observed for anxiolytics, hypnotics and antipsychotics, but not lithium.
conclusionsThe dispensing of opioid medicines is higher among older individuals exposed to antidepressants, anxiolytics, hypnotics and antipsychotics than those who are not. These associations are not due to reverse causality or study design. Preventive strategies seeking to minimise the risk of inappropriate use of opioid medicines in later life should consider targeting this high-risk population.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.