Trends in prescription opioid use for pain in Canada: a population-based repeated cross-sectional study of 6 provinces.

ABSTRACT:

Background

National information on prescription opioid use in Canada is lacking. We sought to examine trends in the incidence and prevalence of prescription opioid dispensing for pain in Canada.

Methods

We conducted a population-based repeated cross-sectional analysis of pharmacy dispensing data from 6 provinces, which captured data from around 80% of Canada's population, between Jan. 1, 2018, and Dec. 31, 2022. We reported monthly population-adjusted rates of new and prevalent recipients of prescription opioids by province and annual provincial population-adjusted rates overall and by age, sex, neighbourhood income quintile, and location of residence. We calculated the proportion of incident recipients receiving guideline-recommended initial opioid doses and prevalent recip

SUBMITTER: Rebic N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12578457 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature