Patterns of Long-Term Prescription Opioid Use Among Older Adults in the United States: A Study of Medicare Administrative Claims Data.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Long-term opioid therapy was prescribed with increasing frequency over the past decade. However, factors surrounding long-term use of opioids in older adults remains poorly understood, probably because older people are not at the center stage of the national opioid crisis.

Objectives

To estimate the annual utilization and trends in long-term opioid use among older adults in the United States.

Study design

Retrospective cohort study.

Setting

Data from Medicare-enrolled older adults.

Methods

This study utilized a nationally representative sample of Medicare administrative claims data from the years 2012 to 2016 containing records of health care services for more than 2.3 million Medicare beneficiaries each year. Medicare beneficiaries who were 6

SUBMITTER: Ramachandran S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7789048 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature