Background/Purpose:   <span”>Since 1999, overuse deaths from opioids in the US has quadrupled with prescription use driving the epidemic. From 1999 to 2014, more than 165,000 persons died from overdose related to opioid pain medication in the United States. The 2012 American College of Rheumatology Osteoarthritis treatment guidelines provide limited guidance, using the GRADE evidence rating system, on opioid prescribing: opioids are conditionally not recommended for hand OA and there is no recommendation for knee and hip OA. National US population-based estimates of prescribed opioid use among adults with arthritis are unknown; therefore, we examined prevalence of and trends in use (2008-2013) among adults with and without arthritis; among those with arthritis, we estimated prevalence of use across selected socio-demographic characteristics.

Methods:   <span”>We analyzed 2008 to 2013 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data. MEPS is annual survey designed to represent the US civilian non-institutionalized population. For each year, we categorized respondents as using prescribed opioids if they reported filling ≥ 1 narcotic analgesics prescription during that year. We categorized respondents as having arthritis if they reported ≥ 1 of ICD-9-CM 274, 710, 712 – 716, 719, and 729.

Results: <span”>In 2013, 36.6 million (15.4%) US adults filled an opioid prescription and US adults with arthritis comprised approximately half (53%) of all US adults taking prescribed opioids. Prevalence among those with and without arthritis was 29.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] =27.4-31.1) and 9.9% (95% CI=9.3-10.4), respectively. From 2008 to 2013, prescribed opioid use prevalence (age-standardized) rose by 4 percentage points (4.4 million) among adults with arthritis (2008=24.7%; 95% CI=23.3-26.3; 2013=28.6%; 95% CI=26.5-30.8) but remained constant among adults without arthritis (Figure). Adults with arthritis with the highest prescribed opioid prevalence were those who were publicly insured only (37.8%), had < high school education (33.7%), some college/associate degree (32.2%), high school graduate (31.9%), or were non-Hispanic Blacks (31.8%). <span”>

Conclusion: <span”><span”>In 2013, US adults with arthritis represented more than half of prescribed opioid users in the general population of US adults with nearly 1 in 3 US adults with arthritis filling an opioid prescription. Using the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention March 2016 opioid prescribing guideline for managing chronic pain may reduce high prescribing for this population and optimize pain management care while improving patient safety. The arthritis population may also benefit from attention to strategies outlined in the recent National Pain Strategy and greater use of evidence-based, non-pharmaceutical methods of reducing joint pain for arthritis, such as greater physical activity and non-opioid pharmacologic therapies. <span”>  Conclusion: 

ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/prevalence-and-trends-in-prescribed-opioid-use-among-us-adults-with-arthritis-2008-2013-medical-expenditure-panel-survey/