ArticleBritish journal of clinical pharmacology2025
Trends in opioid prescribing in Scandinavian countries from 2010 to 2023: Insights from multi-metric evaluation.
Article in British journal of clinical pharmacology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- The constant conflicts of opioid prescribing - GPs' views on treating chronic pain with opioids in primary care: a reflexive qualitative analysis.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Opioid use after breast cancer in Denmark: a nationwide study of social and clinical factors.Journal of the National Cancer Institute · 2026Article
- Factors associated with changes in opioid analgesic prescribing after opioid agonist treatment initiation: A nationwide registry cohort study.Drug and alcohol dependence reports · 2026Article
- The impact of opioid prescribing guidelines on opioid dispensation: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Canadian journal of pain = Revue canadienne de la douleur · 2026Review
- Trends in opioid prescribing in Scandinavian countries from 2010 to 2023: Insights from multi-metric evaluation.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
aimsMonitoring opioid prescribing across different healthcare systems is essential to understanding population-level exposure and informing global health policies. This study examined opioid utilization in Scandinavian countries between 2010 and 2023 using multiple complementary metrics, addressing the limitations of single-metric comparisons.
methodsA repeated cross-sectional study utilizing publicly available drug use statistics on opioid analgesics (ATC group N02A) dispensed in pharmacies from Denmark, Norway and Sweden. We assessed annual changes in utilization based on four metrics: 1-year prevalence (users/1000 inhabitants/year), defined daily doses (DDD)/1000 inhabitants/day (TID), morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs)/TID, and MMEs/user/year.
resultsOpioid use declined in Denmark and Sweden-in both 1-year user prevalence and volumes of MMEs-while stabilizing in Norway. Norway consistently had a higher and stable prevalence of opioid users. Denmark led in total amounts of MMEs dispensed, likely due to more frequent morphine and oxycodone use, whereas Norway ranked highest in DDDs. Denmark and Sweden showed increasing preference for "strong opioids", while codeine-paracetamol and tramadol remained predominant in Norway. The prevalence of oxycodone users increased in Norway and Sweden, with Sweden having the highest prevalence of users but the lowest annual average volumes per user.
conclusionsThis study found major differences in total opioid use and substance-specific prescribing patterns, reflecting diverse pain management strategies across Scandinavia. Changing use patterns suggest evolving prescribing strategies and possible shifts in the target group for opioid pain therapy. In addition, metric-dependent variation underscores the need for using multiple complementary metrics to accurately interpret opioid utilization trends.
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