Abstract
Background: Opioid-related mortality continues to rise. Though risks of prescription opioid misuse and abuse are well known, short-term mortality across a range of prescription opioid exposure is unclear. Objective: This study was conducted in order to assess the short-term mortality associated with quantity of reported opioid prescriptions, Design: An observational analysis was performed using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, years 2005–2015, a population-based, nationally representative household survey. Participants: This study included adults (age 18+) with prescription data and death status reported during their 2-year survey participation. Main Measures: Key exposure is the number of opioid prescriptions (0, 1–5, 6 or more) in year 1 of survey participation. The main outcome is all-cause mortality reported during the 2-year survey participation. Key Results: Of 90,622 participants, 14% reported at least 1 opioid prescription. There were 774 (0.9%) deaths during the survey period, 551 (0.7%) among those not reporting opioids, 127 (1.2%) among those reporting 1–5 opioid prescriptions, and 96 (3.9%) among those reporting 6 or more opioid prescriptions. After adjusting for sociodemographics, health status, and utilization, there was no significant association between category of opioid prescriptions and death during the study period; adjusted odds ratios = 0.86 (95% CI = 0.66, 1.22, p = 0.27) and 0.99 (95% CI = 0.74, 1.34, p = 0.96), respectively, for 1–5 prescriptions and 6 or more prescriptions. Conclusions: In a nationally representative sample, opioid prescriptions were associated with increased short-term mortality only without adjustment for sociodemographics, health status, or utilization. The relationship between prescription opioid use and mortality risk is more complex than previously reported, meriting further examination.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Journal | Journal of general internal medicine |
| DOIs | |
| State | Accepted/In press - Jan 1 2019 |
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Keywords
- health status
- mortality
- opioids
- pain
- United States
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Internal Medicine
Cite this
Opioid Prescriptions and Short-Term Mortality : a U.S. National Study. / Agnoli, Alicia; Jerant, Anthony; Becker, William; Franks, Peter.
In: Journal of general internal medicine, 01.01.2019.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Opioid Prescriptions and Short-Term Mortality
T2 - a U.S. National Study
AU - Agnoli, Alicia
AU - Jerant, Anthony
AU - Becker, William
AU - Franks, Peter
PY - 2019/1/1
Y1 - 2019/1/1
N2 - Background: Opioid-related mortality continues to rise. Though risks of prescription opioid misuse and abuse are well known, short-term mortality across a range of prescription opioid exposure is unclear. Objective: This study was conducted in order to assess the short-term mortality associated with quantity of reported opioid prescriptions, Design: An observational analysis was performed using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, years 2005–2015, a population-based, nationally representative household survey. Participants: This study included adults (age 18+) with prescription data and death status reported during their 2-year survey participation. Main Measures: Key exposure is the number of opioid prescriptions (0, 1–5, 6 or more) in year 1 of survey participation. The main outcome is all-cause mortality reported during the 2-year survey participation. Key Results: Of 90,622 participants, 14% reported at least 1 opioid prescription. There were 774 (0.9%) deaths during the survey period, 551 (0.7%) among those not reporting opioids, 127 (1.2%) among those reporting 1–5 opioid prescriptions, and 96 (3.9%) among those reporting 6 or more opioid prescriptions. After adjusting for sociodemographics, health status, and utilization, there was no significant association between category of opioid prescriptions and death during the study period; adjusted odds ratios = 0.86 (95% CI = 0.66, 1.22, p = 0.27) and 0.99 (95% CI = 0.74, 1.34, p = 0.96), respectively, for 1–5 prescriptions and 6 or more prescriptions. Conclusions: In a nationally representative sample, opioid prescriptions were associated with increased short-term mortality only without adjustment for sociodemographics, health status, or utilization. The relationship between prescription opioid use and mortality risk is more complex than previously reported, meriting further examination.
AB - Background: Opioid-related mortality continues to rise. Though risks of prescription opioid misuse and abuse are well known, short-term mortality across a range of prescription opioid exposure is unclear. Objective: This study was conducted in order to assess the short-term mortality associated with quantity of reported opioid prescriptions, Design: An observational analysis was performed using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, years 2005–2015, a population-based, nationally representative household survey. Participants: This study included adults (age 18+) with prescription data and death status reported during their 2-year survey participation. Main Measures: Key exposure is the number of opioid prescriptions (0, 1–5, 6 or more) in year 1 of survey participation. The main outcome is all-cause mortality reported during the 2-year survey participation. Key Results: Of 90,622 participants, 14% reported at least 1 opioid prescription. There were 774 (0.9%) deaths during the survey period, 551 (0.7%) among those not reporting opioids, 127 (1.2%) among those reporting 1–5 opioid prescriptions, and 96 (3.9%) among those reporting 6 or more opioid prescriptions. After adjusting for sociodemographics, health status, and utilization, there was no significant association between category of opioid prescriptions and death during the study period; adjusted odds ratios = 0.86 (95% CI = 0.66, 1.22, p = 0.27) and 0.99 (95% CI = 0.74, 1.34, p = 0.96), respectively, for 1–5 prescriptions and 6 or more prescriptions. Conclusions: In a nationally representative sample, opioid prescriptions were associated with increased short-term mortality only without adjustment for sociodemographics, health status, or utilization. The relationship between prescription opioid use and mortality risk is more complex than previously reported, meriting further examination.
KW - health status
KW - mortality
KW - opioids
KW - pain
KW - United States
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85074705472&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85074705472&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11606-019-05501-w
DO - 10.1007/s11606-019-05501-w
M3 - Article
C2 - 31667741
AN - SCOPUS:85074705472
JO - Journal of General Internal Medicine
JF - Journal of General Internal Medicine
SN - 0884-8734
ER -