Class III obese people are 158% more likely to use opioids than people with an average BMI. In question: osteoarthritis, back pain, or nerve and muscle pain. This is revealed by two studies carried out in the United States.
-1586159110.jpg "Why are obese people more likely to use opioids?")
- Obese people often suffer from pain related to their overweight
- In the United States, this translates into a much higher than average consumption of opioids in those with a high BMI.
United States concentrate 80% the global consumption of opioids, opium derivatives in the form of drugs (such as heroin) or medication, which are rich in side effects and can lead to addiction. In 2016, nearly 64,000 Americans died after ingesting excessive doses. Faced with these worrying data, researchers mainly from Boston University School of Public Health conducted two studies on the link between obesity and the use of prescription opioids in the United States.
“To date, research on the opioid crisis has primarily focused on supply-side factors that have increased access to opioids.explains Andrew Stokes, in charge of the two studies and assistant professor of global health at Boston University, in a article published on the institution’s website. Our studies offer new evidence for policy makers to consider that solving this crisis will require paying attention to the underlying sources of demand for pain relief, including obesity through its association with pain..”
27% of long-term opioid prescriptions attributed to higher BMIs
The first study, published on March 27 in the medical journal American Journal of Preventive Medicine, was conducted using data from 89,629 people aged 30 to 84 between 2000 and 2015. When they were first interviewed, they had never been prescribed opioids. The researchers then analyzed the incidence of prescription opioid use for ten months or more.
Thus, they found that patients with an above-average BMI (body mass index) were 27% more likely to use opioids over the long term. A probability that rises to 158% for people whose BMI is in the “class III obesity” category and 24% for those who are in the “overweight” category. Commonly identified reasons for opioid prescriptions were joint disorders, back pain, injury, and nerve and muscle pain.
Osteoarthritis and back pain top reasons for opioid prescriptions in obese and overweight people
The second studypublished on April 2 in the journal JAMA Open Network, is particularly interested in the pain conditions underlying the increased likelihood of opioid prescriptions for people with higher BMI. The researchers used anonymized data from 565,930 patients aged 34 to 64 in 2016, who had had their BMI measured during the year. The scientists identified all opioid prescriptions and pain-related diagnoses for these people in the year before or after their BMI measurement.
Result: As in their previous study, the researchers found that patients with a BMI falling into the “overweight” or “obese” category were more likely to be prescribed opioids than patients with a BMI falling into the “heavily” category. normal”. They found that these associations were particularly strong for opioid prescriptions linked to osteoarthritis and back pain, suggesting that these ailments play a significant role in the growing demand for pain relief among obese patients.
“The urgent need for better approaches and options for pain management”
“These data highlight the urgent need to implement better pain management approaches and options for millions of Americans.underlines Tuhina Neogi, professor of epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public Health and lead author of the second study. The lack of sufficient drug options, the distressing underutilization of physiotherapy, and the challenges of weight loss efforts have led to the prescription of opioids to relieve musculoskeletal pain, when very little evidence supports their use.”
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