Healthcare Costs Associated With Chronic Opioid Use and Fibromayalgia Syndrome.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Fibromyalgia (FM) is an idiopathic, functional syndrome characterized by chronic, widespread pain and diffuse tenderness. This disorder affects more than 6 million patients in the United States and is associated with significant clinical and economic burdens.

Objectives

The objectives of this study were to: 1) estimate the costs associated with a FM diagnosis; and 2) estimate the impact of chronic opioid use on the costs of FM patients.

Research design

Case-control study.

Methods

Subjects were identified in a large nationally representative database of commercially insured patients. Propensity score-matched analyses included 445,912 FM-control pairs in the first analysis, while the second analysis included 48,333 chronic opioid users with the FM-cont

SUBMITTER: Painter JT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5444874 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature