Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40721568›Full record

ArticleDrugs & aging2025

Prescription Opioid Use in Older Adults: Trends and Changes in New and Long-Term Use in the United States, 2013-2020.

Kaustuv Bhattacharya, Shadi Bazzazzadehgan, Nga Weng Ivy Leong, Sujith Ramachandran, Ike Eriator, John P Bentley, Yi Yang

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Drugs & aging, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing 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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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  3. Review
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

7 authors.

Kaustuv BhattacharyaDepartment of Pharmacy Administration, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS, 38677, USA.
Shadi BazzazzadehganDepartment of Pharmacy Administration, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS, 38677, USA.
Nga Weng Ivy LeongDepartment of Pharmacy Administration, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS, 38677, USA.
Sujith RamachandranDepartment of Pharmacy Administration, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS, 38677, USA.
Ike EriatorDepartment of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, 39216, USA.
John P BentleyDepartment of Pharmacy Administration, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS, 38677, USA.
Yi YangDepartment of Pharmacy Administration, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS, 38677, USA. yiyang@olemiss.edu.ORCID 0000-0003-1575-5257

Funding

Safety and Effectiveness of Opioid Tapering among Older AdultsR15DA046036 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI · PI YANG, YI · 2018 to 2022
$875k
NIDA NIH HHS R15 DA046036NIDA NIH HHS R15DA046036
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThere is limited knowledge regarding prescription opioid use following the release of the 2016 CDC guidelines, which recommended prioritizing non-opioid therapies for chronic pain, prescribing the lowest effective opioid dose for the shortest duration, and closely monitoring to minimize risks. This study evaluated trends in new and long-term prescription opioid use among older Medicare beneficiaries from January 2013 to September 2020.

methodsThis cohort study utilized 5% national Medicare claims data from 2012 to 2020, including older Medicare beneficiaries (≥ 65 years) with Parts A, B, and D, but not Part C enrollment for at least 10 months in a year. Annual utilization of individual demographic and clinical characteristics, average morphine milligram equivalent (MME) of new prescriptions, percentage of high-dose new prescriptions (MME ≥ 50) users, percentage of short-acting formulation users, and the average days of supply of new prescriptions were reported. Trends in new and long-term prescription opioid use were measured and changes over time were assessed using joinpoint regression. Sensitivity analyses were performed to determine whether subgroups defined by race, region, and clinical characteristics followed the national trend over the study years or deviated from it.

resultsThe study included approximately 2.75 million Medicare beneficiaries annually, mostly women (56%) and white (81%), with a mean age of 75 years. The percentage of beneficiaries with at least one new prescription opioid use increased from 6.6% in 2013 to 10.1% in 2016 (annual percentage change (APC) = 14.2; 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.2-50.0) and significantly decreased afterward to 5.4% in 2020 (APC = -15.3; 95% CI: -32.2 to -9.1). The percentage of individuals with long-term opioid use among new prescription opioid users decreased steadily from 12.4% in 2013 to 8.6% in 2017 (APC = -11.6; 95% CI: -24.2 to -5.7). It increased afterward to 10.7% in 2020, although non-significant (APC = 7.4; 95% CI: -2.8 to 24.2). Sensitivity analyses demonstrate that subgroups defined by race, region, and clinical characteristics generally followed the national trend in new long-term opioid therapy episodes over the study years, with minimal difference in inflection points. The mean (SD) MME per new prescription declined from 31.5 (27.44) in 2013 to 26.82 (17.48) in 2020, and the percentage of high-dose prescription users fell from 15.3% in 2013 to 7.6% in 2020. Short-acting formulation users rose from 97.41% in 2013 to 99.41% in 2020, while the average (SD) days of supply per new prescription decreased from 21.91 (23.49) to 12.40 (15.27).

conclusionsA comprehensive assessment of trends in prescription opioid use before and after the release of the 2016 CDC guidelines suggested an overall decline in new and long-term prescription opioid use among older adults, as well as average dose and percentage of high-dose prescription opioid users.

Indexed as

Analgesics, OpioidChronic PainAgedAged, 80 and overCohort StudiesDrug PrescriptionsFemaleHumansMaleMedicarePractice Patterns, Physicians'United StatesAnalgesics, Opioid

Identifiers

PMID40721568
PMCPMC12436516

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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.