Moriya Asako S., Fang Zhengyi
Prescription opioids are commonly used to treat both chronic and acute pain in the United States. However, they are not recommended as first-line treatment for most types of pain due to the serious risk of opioid use disorder (OUD) and overdose. As OUD and opioid overdose deaths continue to be major public health concerns, examining the patterns and trends in the use of prescribed opioids can contribute to efforts to promote safer and more effective treatments for pain management. This Statistical Brief presents estimates of prescription fills for opioid medicines that are commonly used to treat pain. These data were obtained from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) 2020–2021 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component (MEPS-HC). These estimates are an update to the 2018–2019 estimates presented in the previous AHRQ Statistical Brief #541. The estimates only include prescriptions purchased or obtained in an outpatient setting. Prescription medicines administered in an inpatient setting or in a clinic or physician’s office are not included. The sample includes all adults aged 65 and older in the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population. Statistical Brief 552 presents estimates of opioid use for adults aged 18–64. We examine the average annual percentages of adults aged 65 and older in 2020–2021 with (1) any opioid use (defined as one or more prescription fills during the year) and (2) frequent opioid use (defined as having four or more prescription fills or refills during the year). We present overall estimates for the full population of adults aged 65 and older and for subgroups defined by sex, race/ethnicity, poverty status, insurance coverage, perceived health status, census region, and metropolitan statistical area (MSA) status. All differences mentioned in the text are significant at the p<0.05 level or better. Because of differences in methodology and in the definitions of opioid prescription fills, readers should use caution when comparing MEPS data with data from other sources. See the “Definitions” section of this Statistical Brief for details.
在美国，处方类阿片药物常用于治疗慢性和急性疼痛。然而，由于存在阿片类药物使用障碍（OUD）和过量使用的严重风险，它们不被推荐作为大多数类型疼痛的一线治疗药物。鉴于OUD和阿片类药物过量致死仍然是主要的公共卫生问题，研究处方类阿片药物的使用模式和趋势有助于推动更安全、更有效的疼痛管理治疗方法。本统计简报提供了常用于治疗疼痛的阿片类药物的处方配药估计数据。这些数据来自医疗保健研究与质量局（AHRQ）2020 - 2021年医疗支出面板调查家庭部分（MEPS - HC）。这些估计数据是对上一份AHRQ统计简报#541中2018 - 2019年估计数据的更新。这些估计仅包括在门诊环境中购买或获取的处方。不包括在住院环境或诊所或医生办公室开具的处方药。样本包括美国非机构化平民人口中所有65岁及以上的成年人。统计简报552提供了18 - 64岁成年人的阿片类药物使用估计数据。我们研究了2020 - 2021年65岁及以上成年人中（1）任何阿片类药物使用情况（定义为在该年度有一次或多次处方配药）和（2）频繁阿片类药物使用情况（定义为在该年度有四次或更多次处方配药或续方）的年均百分比。我们给出了65岁及以上成年人总体人群以及按性别、种族/民族、贫困状况、保险覆盖范围、自我感知健康状况、人口普查区域和大都市统计区（MSA）状况定义的亚组的总体估计数据。文中提及的所有差异在p<0.05或更优水平上具有统计学意义。由于阿片类药物处方配药的方法和定义存在差异，读者在将MEPS数据与其他来源的数据进行比较时应谨慎。详情见本统计简报的“定义”部分。
