Risk of opioid abuse rises with lengthy prescriptions
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The probability of long-term opioid use increases most sharply in the first days of therapy, particularly after five days or one month of opioids have been prescribed, according to a study released Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Only 6% of pain sufferers were still on opioids one year after they were initially prescribed if they were only prescribed an opioid for one day, according to the study called Characteristics of Initial Prescription Episode and Likelihood of Long-Term Opioid Use.
But that percentage increased to 13.5% for people who were prescribed an eight-day or longer supply and to 29.9% when it was for 31 or more days.
The study found that approximately 7% of first-time prescriptions exceed a one-month supply.
The study, which examined health insurance data between 2006 and 2015 for 1.2 million patients, comes at a time when several states have taken steps to curb initial opioid prescribing. For example, New Jersey and Pennsylvania this year enacted laws that limit first-time prescriptions for opioids to five days and seven days, respectively. California is also looking to introduce its drug formulary in workers compensation in July, limiting first-time prescriptions for opioids to five days before a review board approval would be necessary.
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