Prescription opioid exposures and adverse outcomes among older adults

Purpose A high prevalence of chronic pain and high rates of polypharmacy among older adults suggest that this age group may be particularly susceptible to unintentional misuse of prescription opioids. We examined recent trends in misuse of prescription opioids and associated medical outcomes among o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety 2016-05, Vol.25 (5), p.539-544
Main Authors: West, Nancy A., Dart, Richard C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Age Factors
Aged
aging
Analgesics, Opioid - administration & dosage
Analgesics, Opioid - poisoning
Chronic Pain - drug therapy
Drug abuse
epidemiology
Female
Humans
Linear Models
Male
Middle Aged
Narcotics
Older people
Opioid-Related Disorders - epidemiology
opioids
pharmacoepidemiology
Poison Control Centers
Polypharmacy
Prescription Drug Misuse - statistics & numerical data
Prevalence
Social conditions & trends
Time Factors
United States
United States - epidemiology
Young Adult
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Summary:Purpose A high prevalence of chronic pain and high rates of polypharmacy among older adults suggest that this age group may be particularly susceptible to unintentional misuse of prescription opioids. We examined recent trends in misuse of prescription opioids and associated medical outcomes among older‐aged adults (60+ years) and compared the patterns with trends among younger‐aged adults (20–59 years). Methods Linear regression trend analysis was used to analyze 57 681 misuse cases reported to participating US poison centers during 2006–2014. Results Population rates of misuse of prescription opioids were higher for older adults than for younger adults, and this disparity increased over time. Rates among the older ages increased each year, although the rate of increase slowed over time (p 
ISSN:1053-8569
1099-1557
DOI:10.1002/pds.3934