Observational studyCNS drugs2025
International Trends in Opioid Prescribing by Age and Sex from 2001 to 2019: An Observational Study Using Population-Based Databases from 18 Countries and One Special Administrative Region.
Observational study in CNS drugs, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Multilingual analysis of public discourse on opioid and non-opioid analgesics through social media: a cross-sectional infodemiological study.BMC medical research methodology · 2026Article
- Pharmacological Mechanisms and Clinical Applications of Oxycodone in Cancer Pain Management: A Narrative Review.Drug design, development and therapy · 2026Review
- 10 Practical Considerations for the Conduct of Multi-National/Database Studies in Pharmacoepidemiology.Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
48 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo characterize multinational trends and patterns of opioid analgesic prescribing by sex and age. DESIGN, SETTING, AND
participantsWe studied opioid analgesic prescribing from 2001 to 2019 with common protocol using population-based databases from eighteen countries and one special administrative region.
main outcome measuresWe measured opioid prescribing by geographical region, sex and age, estimating annual prevalent, incident, and nonincident opioid prescribing per 100 population with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and meta-analyzed the multinational and regional opioid prescribing with a random-effects model. Time trends were reported through average annual absolute changes, estimated using linear mixed models. We further explored the effect of sex and age on prevalent opioid prescribing in the multivariable analysis.
resultsOver 248 million individuals were included. Pooled multinational opioid prescribing prevalence was 9.0% amongst included countries/regions. Opioid prescribing prevalence in 2015 ranged from 2.7% in Japan to 19.7% in Iceland. Average annual absolute changes in opioid prescribing prevalence per year ranged from - 1.53% (95% CI - 2.06, - 1.00; United States Medicaid) to + 1.24% (95% CI 1.02, 1.46; South Korea). Pooled multinational incident opioid prescribing (4.9%; 95% CI 4.1, 5.9) was higher than pooled multinational nonincident opioid prescribing (3.7%; 95% CI 2.9, 4.8). The female sex and older age were associated with higher opioid prescribing. Main limitations of this study include the absence of data from study duration or individuals not covered by the data sources and the lack of information on medication adherence and indication.
conclusionsOpioid prescribing remains unbalanced across geographical regions; however, results suggest a tendency to convergence across countries/regions. Differences in opioid prescribing by sex and age were identified.
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