Trends in prescription opioid use in Europe: A DARWIN EU® multinational cohort study including seven European countries
BackgroundThe opioid crisis has been a serious public health challenge in North America for decades, despite numerous efforts to mitigate its devastating consequences. As concerns grow about a similar situation developing in Europe, we evaluated the trends in opioid use and characterized prescribing...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-08-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Pharmacology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2025.1608051/full |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849339688761950208 |
|---|---|
| author | Junqing Xie Mike Du Yuchen Guo Cesar Barboza James T. Brash Antonella Delmestri Talita Duarte-Salles Talita Duarte-Salles Jasmine Gratton Romain Griffier Raivo Kolde Wai Yi Man Núria Mercadé-Besora Marek Oja Sarah Seager Katia Verhamme Dina Vojinovic Edward Burn Daniel Prieto-Alhambra Daniel Prieto-Alhambra Martí Català Annika M. Jödicke |
| author_facet | Junqing Xie Mike Du Yuchen Guo Cesar Barboza James T. Brash Antonella Delmestri Talita Duarte-Salles Talita Duarte-Salles Jasmine Gratton Romain Griffier Raivo Kolde Wai Yi Man Núria Mercadé-Besora Marek Oja Sarah Seager Katia Verhamme Dina Vojinovic Edward Burn Daniel Prieto-Alhambra Daniel Prieto-Alhambra Martí Català Annika M. Jödicke |
| author_sort | Junqing Xie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundThe opioid crisis has been a serious public health challenge in North America for decades, despite numerous efforts to mitigate its devastating consequences. As concerns grow about a similar situation developing in Europe, we evaluated the trends in opioid use and characterized prescribing indications across seven European countries.MethodsWe conducted a multinational cohort study using electronic health records from various healthcare settings: primary care [Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) GOLD (United Kingdom), Sistema d’Informació per al Desenvolupament de la Investigació en Atenció Primària (SIDIAP, Spain), and Integrated Primary Care Information Project (IPCI, the Netherlands)]; primary and outpatient specialist care [IQVIA Disease Analyzer (DA) Germany and IQVIA Longitudinal Patient Database (LPD) Belgium]; hospital care [Clinical Data Warehouse of Bordeaux University Hospital (CHUBX, France)]; and the Estonian Biobank (EBB). All data were mapped to the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) Common Data Model (CDM). All people registered in a contributing database for ≥365 days between 2012 and 2022 were included. Annual period prevalence and incidence rates of opioid prescriptions were estimated, and long-term trends were quantified as the percent change from 2012 to 2019. New opioid users were characterized, including potential prescribing indications.ResultsBetween 2012 and 2019, the incidence of opioid prescriptions in primary care decreased by −50·7% (CPRD GOLD) and −2·0% (SIDIAP), while it increased in EBB (+52·8%) and CHUBX (+25·3%) data. The incidence of codeine and tramadol use decreased in most databases. However, the prevalence of oxycodone, morphine, and fentanyl increased. Opioid use was highest among older age groups, and the majority of prescriptions were for oral formulations. Respiratory and pain-related conditions were the most common indications for new opioid users in outpatient settings.ConclusionDespite a decrease in new opioid prescriptions in many European countries, the prevalence of opioid use remained largely stable over the last decade. More data are needed to monitor evolving opioid prescription patterns in Europe, particularly in the post-pandemic era. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3e078938bb264e64aa72bff46ff7c7f2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1663-9812 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Pharmacology |
| spelling | doaj-art-3e078938bb264e64aa72bff46ff7c7f22025-08-20T03:44:04ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Pharmacology1663-98122025-08-011610.3389/fphar.2025.16080511608051Trends in prescription opioid use in Europe: A DARWIN EU® multinational cohort study including seven European countriesJunqing Xie0Mike Du1Yuchen Guo2Cesar Barboza3James T. Brash4Antonella Delmestri5Talita Duarte-Salles6Talita Duarte-Salles7Jasmine Gratton8Romain Griffier9Raivo Kolde10Wai Yi Man11Núria Mercadé-Besora12Marek Oja13Sarah Seager14Katia Verhamme15Dina Vojinovic16Edward Burn17Daniel Prieto-Alhambra18Daniel Prieto-Alhambra19Martí Català20Annika M. Jödicke21Pharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Centre of Statistics in Medicine, NDORMS, University of Oxford, England, United KingdomPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Centre of Statistics in Medicine, NDORMS, University of Oxford, England, United KingdomPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Centre of Statistics in Medicine, NDORMS, University of Oxford, England, United KingdomDepartment of Medical Informatics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, NetherlandsIQVIA, Real World Solution, Brighton, United KingdomPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Centre of Statistics in Medicine, NDORMS, University of Oxford, England, United KingdomDepartment of Medical Informatics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, NetherlandsFundació Institut Universitari per a la recerca a l’Atenció Primària de Salut Jordi Gol i Gurina (IDIAPJGol), Barcelona, SpainIQVIA, Real World Solution, Brighton, United KingdomPublic Health Department, Medical Information Service, Bordeaux University Hospital, Bordeaux, FranceInstitute of Computer Science, University of Tartu, Tartu, EstoniaPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Centre of Statistics in Medicine, NDORMS, University of Oxford, England, United KingdomFundació Institut Universitari per a la recerca a l’Atenció Primària de Salut Jordi Gol i Gurina (IDIAPJGol), Barcelona, SpainInstitute of Computer Science, University of Tartu, Tartu, EstoniaIQVIA, Real World Solution, Brighton, United KingdomDepartment of Medical Informatics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, NetherlandsIQVIA, Real World Solutions, Amsterdam, NetherlandsPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Centre of Statistics in Medicine, NDORMS, University of Oxford, England, United KingdomPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Centre of Statistics in Medicine, NDORMS, University of Oxford, England, United KingdomDepartment of Medical Informatics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, NetherlandsPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Centre of Statistics in Medicine, NDORMS, University of Oxford, England, United KingdomPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Centre of Statistics in Medicine, NDORMS, University of Oxford, England, United KingdomBackgroundThe opioid crisis has been a serious public health challenge in North America for decades, despite numerous efforts to mitigate its devastating consequences. As concerns grow about a similar situation developing in Europe, we evaluated the trends in opioid use and characterized prescribing indications across seven European countries.MethodsWe conducted a multinational cohort study using electronic health records from various healthcare settings: primary care [Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) GOLD (United Kingdom), Sistema d’Informació per al Desenvolupament de la Investigació en Atenció Primària (SIDIAP, Spain), and Integrated Primary Care Information Project (IPCI, the Netherlands)]; primary and outpatient specialist care [IQVIA Disease Analyzer (DA) Germany and IQVIA Longitudinal Patient Database (LPD) Belgium]; hospital care [Clinical Data Warehouse of Bordeaux University Hospital (CHUBX, France)]; and the Estonian Biobank (EBB). All data were mapped to the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) Common Data Model (CDM). All people registered in a contributing database for ≥365 days between 2012 and 2022 were included. Annual period prevalence and incidence rates of opioid prescriptions were estimated, and long-term trends were quantified as the percent change from 2012 to 2019. New opioid users were characterized, including potential prescribing indications.ResultsBetween 2012 and 2019, the incidence of opioid prescriptions in primary care decreased by −50·7% (CPRD GOLD) and −2·0% (SIDIAP), while it increased in EBB (+52·8%) and CHUBX (+25·3%) data. The incidence of codeine and tramadol use decreased in most databases. However, the prevalence of oxycodone, morphine, and fentanyl increased. Opioid use was highest among older age groups, and the majority of prescriptions were for oral formulations. Respiratory and pain-related conditions were the most common indications for new opioid users in outpatient settings.ConclusionDespite a decrease in new opioid prescriptions in many European countries, the prevalence of opioid use remained largely stable over the last decade. More data are needed to monitor evolving opioid prescription patterns in Europe, particularly in the post-pandemic era.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2025.1608051/fullopioidstrends multinationalelectronic health recordsreal-world datacommon data model |
| spellingShingle | Junqing Xie Mike Du Yuchen Guo Cesar Barboza James T. Brash Antonella Delmestri Talita Duarte-Salles Talita Duarte-Salles Jasmine Gratton Romain Griffier Raivo Kolde Wai Yi Man Núria Mercadé-Besora Marek Oja Sarah Seager Katia Verhamme Dina Vojinovic Edward Burn Daniel Prieto-Alhambra Daniel Prieto-Alhambra Martí Català Annika M. Jödicke Trends in prescription opioid use in Europe: A DARWIN EU® multinational cohort study including seven European countries Frontiers in Pharmacology opioids trends multinational electronic health records real-world data common data model |
| title | Trends in prescription opioid use in Europe: A DARWIN EU® multinational cohort study including seven European countries |
| title_full | Trends in prescription opioid use in Europe: A DARWIN EU® multinational cohort study including seven European countries |
| title_fullStr | Trends in prescription opioid use in Europe: A DARWIN EU® multinational cohort study including seven European countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Trends in prescription opioid use in Europe: A DARWIN EU® multinational cohort study including seven European countries |
| title_short | Trends in prescription opioid use in Europe: A DARWIN EU® multinational cohort study including seven European countries |
| title_sort | trends in prescription opioid use in europe a darwin eu r multinational cohort study including seven european countries |
| topic | opioids trends multinational electronic health records real-world data common data model |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2025.1608051/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT junqingxie trendsinprescriptionopioiduseineuropeadarwineumultinationalcohortstudyincludingseveneuropeancountries AT mikedu trendsinprescriptionopioiduseineuropeadarwineumultinationalcohortstudyincludingseveneuropeancountries AT yuchenguo trendsinprescriptionopioiduseineuropeadarwineumultinationalcohortstudyincludingseveneuropeancountries AT cesarbarboza trendsinprescriptionopioiduseineuropeadarwineumultinationalcohortstudyincludingseveneuropeancountries AT jamestbrash trendsinprescriptionopioiduseineuropeadarwineumultinationalcohortstudyincludingseveneuropeancountries AT antonelladelmestri trendsinprescriptionopioiduseineuropeadarwineumultinationalcohortstudyincludingseveneuropeancountries AT talitaduartesalles trendsinprescriptionopioiduseineuropeadarwineumultinationalcohortstudyincludingseveneuropeancountries AT talitaduartesalles trendsinprescriptionopioiduseineuropeadarwineumultinationalcohortstudyincludingseveneuropeancountries AT jasminegratton trendsinprescriptionopioiduseineuropeadarwineumultinationalcohortstudyincludingseveneuropeancountries AT romaingriffier trendsinprescriptionopioiduseineuropeadarwineumultinationalcohortstudyincludingseveneuropeancountries AT raivokolde trendsinprescriptionopioiduseineuropeadarwineumultinationalcohortstudyincludingseveneuropeancountries AT waiyiman trendsinprescriptionopioiduseineuropeadarwineumultinationalcohortstudyincludingseveneuropeancountries AT nuriamercadebesora trendsinprescriptionopioiduseineuropeadarwineumultinationalcohortstudyincludingseveneuropeancountries AT marekoja trendsinprescriptionopioiduseineuropeadarwineumultinationalcohortstudyincludingseveneuropeancountries AT sarahseager trendsinprescriptionopioiduseineuropeadarwineumultinationalcohortstudyincludingseveneuropeancountries AT katiaverhamme trendsinprescriptionopioiduseineuropeadarwineumultinationalcohortstudyincludingseveneuropeancountries AT dinavojinovic trendsinprescriptionopioiduseineuropeadarwineumultinationalcohortstudyincludingseveneuropeancountries AT edwardburn trendsinprescriptionopioiduseineuropeadarwineumultinationalcohortstudyincludingseveneuropeancountries AT danielprietoalhambra trendsinprescriptionopioiduseineuropeadarwineumultinationalcohortstudyincludingseveneuropeancountries AT danielprietoalhambra trendsinprescriptionopioiduseineuropeadarwineumultinationalcohortstudyincludingseveneuropeancountries AT marticatala trendsinprescriptionopioiduseineuropeadarwineumultinationalcohortstudyincludingseveneuropeancountries AT annikamjodicke trendsinprescriptionopioiduseineuropeadarwineumultinationalcohortstudyincludingseveneuropeancountries |