Opioid prescription patterns for adults with longstanding disability and inflammatory conditions compared to other users, using a nationally representative sample

Objectives: To investigate the opioid prescription patterns for adults with longstanding physical disability and inflammatory conditions, compared to a mixed group of other opioid users, after excluding cancer patients. Design: Nationally representative cross-sectional study, 2010-2014. Setting: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). Participants: The participants (N=7134) were adults who participated in MEPS and had at least 1 opioid prescription, did not have cancer, and were between 18 years and 64 years of age. The participants were grouped as longstanding physical disability (group 1), inflammatory conditions (group 2), and a mixed group with at least 1 opioid prescription during the 2-year study period (comparison group). Participants with both groups of conditions were excluded. Interventions: Not applicable. Main outcome measure: Morphine milligram equivalent (MME) doses for each participant were cumulated over a 2-year panel period. Results: By using quantile regression, cumulative MME in groups 1 and 2 was higher than the comparison group across all the percentiles, and differences between condition groups and comparison group became larger in higher percentiles. Participants in group 1 had the highest cumulative MME in 75th and 90th percentiles after controlling for other covariates. Conclusions: This study documented the opioid prescription patterns for patients with longstanding physical disability or inflammatory conditions. All indexed groups (groups 1 and 2) had higher MME use compared to the comparison group.