ArticleJournal of the National Cancer Institute2025
Association of opioid and benzodiazepine coprescribing with adverse events among older adults with cancer.
Article in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Changes in opioid prescribing and high-risk co-prescribing after implementation of the 2016 CDC opioid guideline among older adults with and without cancer.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Double Jeopardy: Risks of Opioid-Benzodiazepine Co-prescription in Older Adults with Gastrointestinal Cancer.Annals of surgical oncology · 2026Article
- ASO Author Reflections: Double Jeopardy-Risks of Opioid-Benzodiazepine Co-prescription in Older Adults with Gastrointestinal Cancer.Annals of surgical oncology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMany older adults with cancer are coprescribed opioids/benzodiazepines; evidence on harms is lacking.
methodsUsing SEER-Medicare (2012-2019), we identified patients with breast, colorectal, or lung cancer. Cox proportional hazards models estimated the adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) of coprescribing (measured from claims, at the day level) with the immediate risk of overdose, fall/fracture, and all-cause hospitalization. In a secondary analysis, models were stratified by ≥90 days of continuous medication supply.
resultsIn our cohort of 107 288 patients, compared with those prescribed neither medication, those prescribed benzodiazepines had an increase in the immediate risk of falls/fractures (HR = 1.17, 95% CI = 1.02 to 1.34) and all-cause hospitalizations (HR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.04 to 1.12). Patients prescribed opioids had an increase in the immediate risk of overdose (HR = 5.62, 95% CI = 4.86 to 5.62), falls/fractures (HR = 1.56, 95% CI = 1.41 to 1.73), and all-cause hospitalizations (HR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.23 to 1.30). HRs were similar for patients coprescribed opioids/benzodiazepines. For patients without continuous exposure to 1 or both medications, effects were larger for coprescribed opioids/benzodiazepines vs opioids for overdose (HR = 15.22, 95% CI = 8.79 to 26.35 vs HR = 6.85, 95% CI = 6.85 to 26.35) and all-cause hospitalization (HR = 3.21, 95% CI = 2.60 to 3.96 vs HR = 1.98, 95% CI = 1.87 to 2.10).
conclusionsOverall, compared with no prescribing, benzodiazepine prescribing and opioid prescribing were each associated with an increase in the immediate risk of adverse events. Effects were similar for those prescribed opioids and those coprescribed opioids/benzodiazepines. For patients with intermittent vs long-term medication exposure, coprescribing additionally increased the risk of overdose and all-cause hospitalization.
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