Tak Kyu Oh1, Young-Tae Jeon2, Jae Wook Choi3. 1. Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, South Korea. 2. Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, South Korea; Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea. Electronic address: ytjeon@snubh.org. 3. Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea; Institute for Occupational and Environmental Health, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea. Electronic address: shine@korea.ac.kr.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The Korean National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) was developed to provide population data for medical research. The aim of this study was to estimate trends in prescription opioid use in South Korea, and to determine the association between chronic opioid use and 5-yr mortality in cancer and non-cancer patients. METHODS: A population-based cohort study was conducted amongst the South Korean adult population using data from the NHIS. Those prescribed a continuous supply of opioids for ≥90 days were defined as chronic opioid users. Multivariable Cox regression analysis was used to assess the association between chronic opioid use and 5-yr mortality. RESULTS: The proportion of chronic weak opioid users increased from 1.03% in 2002 to 9.62% in 2015. The proportion of chronic strong opioid users increased from 0.04% in 2002 to 0.24% in 2015. In the 2010 cohort (n=822 214), compared with non-users, chronic weak opioid users had a significantly lower 5-yr mortality (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.93; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.89-0.96; P<0.001), and chronic strong opioid users had a significantly higher 5-yr mortality (HR: 1.45; 95% CI: 1.28-1.63; P<0.001). Similar results were observed in non-cancer patients, but chronic weak opioid users were not significantly associated with 5-yr mortality in cancer patients (P=0.063). CONCLUSIONS: In South Korea, chronic opioid use has increased since 2002. Chronic strong opioid use was associated with a higher 5-yr mortality, and chronic weak opioid use was associated with a slightly lower 5-yr mortality. However, the findings regarding chronic weak opioid users should be interpreted carefully because there might be residual confounders in this study. Further study is needed to confirm these retrospective findings.
BACKGROUND: The Korean National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) was developed to provide population data for medical research. The aim of this study was to estimate trends in prescription opioid use in South Korea, and to determine the association between chronic opioid use and 5-yr mortality in cancer and non-cancerpatients. METHODS: A population-based cohort study was conducted amongst the South Korean adult population using data from the NHIS. Those prescribed a continuous supply of opioids for ≥90 days were defined as chronic opioid users. Multivariable Cox regression analysis was used to assess the association between chronic opioid use and 5-yr mortality. RESULTS: The proportion of chronic weak opioid users increased from 1.03% in 2002 to 9.62% in 2015. The proportion of chronic strong opioid users increased from 0.04% in 2002 to 0.24% in 2015. In the 2010 cohort (n=822 214), compared with non-users, chronic weak opioid users had a significantly lower 5-yr mortality (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.93; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.89-0.96; P<0.001), and chronic strong opioid users had a significantly higher 5-yr mortality (HR: 1.45; 95% CI: 1.28-1.63; P<0.001). Similar results were observed in non-cancerpatients, but chronic weak opioid users were not significantly associated with 5-yr mortality in cancerpatients (P=0.063). CONCLUSIONS: In South Korea, chronic opioid use has increased since 2002. Chronic strong opioid use was associated with a higher 5-yr mortality, and chronic weak opioid use was associated with a slightly lower 5-yr mortality. However, the findings regarding chronic weak opioid users should be interpreted carefully because there might be residual confounders in this study. Further study is needed to confirm these retrospective findings.
Authors: Jinseok Yeo; Jun Seok Park; Gyu-Seog Choi; Hye Jin Kim; Jay Kyoung Kim; Jinyoung Oh; Soo Yeun Park Journal: World J Surg Date: 2022-05-08 Impact factor: 3.282
Authors: K S Gordon; A Manhapra; S Crystal; J Dziura; E J Edelman; M Skanderson; R D Kerns; A C Justice; J Tate; W C Becker Journal: Drug Alcohol Depend Date: 2020-09-16 Impact factor: 4.492
Authors: Cho Long Kim; Sung Jun Hong; Yun Hee Lim; Jae Hun Jeong; Ho Sik Moon; Hey Ran Choi; Sun Kyung Park; Jung Eun Kim; Hakjong You; Jae Hun Kim Journal: Korean J Pain Date: 2020-07-01
Authors: Yonghan Cha; Suk Yong Jang; Jun Il Yoo; Hyo Gil Choi; Jeong Won Hwang; Wonsik Choy Journal: J Korean Med Sci Date: 2021-04-05 Impact factor: 2.153