Monitoring Chronic Non-Cancer Pain in Denmark Over Two Decades: Prevalence, Mental Health and Loneliness.

Background: Epidemiological surveys have monitored chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) and investigated associated factors in Denmark for more than 20 years. This study aimed to analyse CNCP prevalence in the Danish population from 2000 to 2023 and its associations with mental health status and loneliness.

Methods: Population-based surveys were conducted between 2000 and 2023.

Prevalence of substance use disorder diagnoses in patients with chronic pain receiving reimbursed opioids: An epidemiological study of four Norwegian health registries.

Objectives: Since 2008, patients have had access to reimbursed analgesics, including opioids, for chronic pain in Norway. There is a need for knowledge on the occurrence and trends over time of substance use disorder (SUD) diagnoses among patients who receive reimbursed opioids for chronic pain. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of SUD diagnoses in patients with chronic pain using reimbursed opioids from 2010 to 2019 in Norway.

Is general practitioner involvement in the initiation of opioids for chronic non-cancer pain associated with opioid dose and concurrent drug use?

Is the involvement of the regular general practitioner (GP) in the decision to initiate opioid treatment for chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) associated with two main risk factors for serious adverse events: increased opioid dose and the concomitant use of prescribed benzodiazepines or benzodiazepine-related medications? An anonymous web-based survey was conducted in the county of Rogaland, Norway, during the spring of 2021. GPs who self-reported applying at least once for reimbursement of opioids prescribed to treat CNCP. They were asked to answer the survey based on the last patient for whom they recalled submitting a reimbursement application.

The risk of long-term opioid use among immigrants: a national registry-linkage study.

Aims: We aimed to investigate the association between being an immigrant and long-term prescription opioid use in Norway in 2010-2019.

Methods: Nested case-control study. The cases were all persons 18 years of age or older with long-term opioid use - that is, the use of prescription opioids longer than 3 months (=215,642).

Opioid use after surgical treatment in the Danish population-Protocol for a register-based cohort study.

Background: Over the past 25 years, global opioid consumption has increased. Denmark ranks fifth in opioid use globally, exceeding other Scandinavian countries. Postsurgical pain is a common reason for opioid prescriptions, but opioid use patterns after patient discharge from the hospital are unclear.

Increased cancer incidence and mortality among people with opioid use-related disorders: A nation-wide cohort study.

Background And Aims: Studies on cancer incidence and mortality among people with opioid use-related disorders are lacking. We aimed to measure cancer-specific incidence, mortality and survival among people diagnosed with opioid use-related disorders in Norway during 2010-18.

Design And Setting: This was a cohort study conducted in Norway during 2010-18.

Exploring dual diagnosis in opioid agonist treatment patients: a registry-linkage study in Czechia and Norway.

Background: Knowledge of co-occurring mental disorders (termed 'dual diagnosis') among patients receiving opioid agonist treatment (OAT) is scarce. This study aimed (1) to estimate the prevalence and structure of dual diagnoses in two national cohorts of OAT patients and (2) to compare mental disorders between OAT patients and the general populations stratified on sex and standardized by age.

Methods: A registry-linkage study of OAT patients from Czechia (N = 4,280) and Norway (N = 11,389) during 2010-2019 was conducted.

Treatment patterns of antidepressants in children and adolescents in Scandinavia.

The aim of this study was to examine variations in use of antidepressants among children and adolescents in the three Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Norway, and Denmark). We identified new users of antidepressants (5-17 years) during 2007-2018 and described the annual incidence rate, treatment duration, concomitant psychotropic drug use, and the clinical setting of the prescribing physician (in Sweden and Denmark). Incident use of antidepressants increased by a factor 1.

Morbidity among Adolescent Hypnotic Drug Users in Norway: An Observational Population-Based Study.

We have previously shown that the use of hypnotic drugs increased among young Scandinavians during 2012-2018. This study aimed to explore psychiatric and somatic morbidity among adolescent hypnotic drug users in a cohort study of 13-17-year-old individuals during 2008-2018 in Norway. Data sources were (i) prescription data from the Norwegian Prescription Database linked to specialist health care diagnoses from the Norwegian Patient Registry and (ii) sleep disorder diagnoses from the Primary Health Care Database.

Patterns of filled prescriptions and the association with risk of drug-induced death. A population-based nested case-control register study.

Purpose: Opioid analgesics (OA) and other pharmaceuticals have been associated with drug-induced deaths. However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding patterns of use of these pharmaceuticals in the population and regarding such associations. We identify and describe subgroups of people with different patterns of filled prescriptions of OA and other relevant pharmaceuticals and examine associations with drug-induced deaths.

[Mental disorders and symptoms with persistent opioid use for chronic non-cancer pain – a registry study].

Background: Knowledge of mental disorders among patients with persistent opioid use for the treatment of chronic non-cancer pain is essential, as mental disorders and symptoms can exacerbate or perpetuate pain and impact on the ability of patients to manage their illness. We have studied the prevalence of mental disorders and symptoms, including substance use disorders, in patients with persistent opioid use in 2019.

Material And Method: Persons ≥ 18 years with persistent opioid use and persons ≥ 18 years with at least one registered mental disorder in the specialist healthcare service in 2019 were included.

Pills and the damage done: the opioid epidemic as man-made crisis.

The prescription opioid epidemic has slowly evolved over the past quarter century with increasingly detrimental consequences for public health. Man-made crises are often unforeseen and characterized by a situation without natural causes where - because of human intent, error, negligence, or the failure of manmade systems - the level of needs in the population exceeds available resources to counter the problem. This paper presents the prescription opioid epidemic as a man-made crisis and explores the public health impact of opioid manufacturers and other industries producing commodities with addictive potential as a shared vulnerability among countries.

Recognition and management of children and adolescents with conduct disorder: a real-world data study from four western countries.

Background: Conduct disorders (CD) are among the most frequent psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents, with an estimated worldwide prevalence in the community of 2-4%. Evidence-based psychological outpatient treatment leads to significant improvement in about two-thirds of cases. However, there seems to be considerable variation in rates of CD diagnoses and implementation of evidence-based interventions between nations.

Fatal drug overdoses in individuals treated pharmacologically for chronic pain: a nationwide register-based study.

Introduction: Chronic pain patients may be at an increased risk for drug overdoses as a result of comorbid psychiatric disorders and treatment with risk-increasing prescription medications, such as opioids. We aimed to characterise fatal drug overdoses and investigate factors associated with the deaths among individuals who had been treated pharmacologically for chronic pain.

Methods: We included all individuals who received analgesics reimbursed for chronic pain in Norway during 2010-9 (n=569 047).

Prescription high-risk polysubstance use among opioid maintenance treatment patients.

Background: Among individuals receiving buprenorphine or methadone as opioid maintenance treatment (OMT), concomitant use of other central nervous system depressants, including prescription drugs, can increase risk of overdose. We aimed to 1) determine the prevalence of use of high-risk prescription drugs (opioid analgesics, benzodiazepines, benzodiazepine-related drugs, and gabapentinoids) among OMT patients, 2) calculate its associations with different mental health and pain-related diagnoses, and 3) compare prevalence of concomitant use with the general population.

Methods: A national sample comprising all individuals filling at least one prescription of OMT drugs in Norway in 2019 was formed.

Gender differences in physical morbidity in opioid agonist treatment patients: population-based cohort studies from the Czech Republic and Norway.

Background: Physical diseases represent a significant burden for opioid agonist treatment (OAT) patients. This study described physical morbidity in two national cohorts of OAT patients focusing on gender differences.

Methods: This population-based cohort study linking multiple health registers investigated physical diseases (ICD-10) in patients receiving OAT in the Czech Republic (N = 4,280) and Norway (N = 11,389) during 2010-2019.

Opioid prescriptions among Sami and non-Sami with chronic pain: The SAMINOR 2 Questionnaire Survey and the Norwegian Prescription Database.

This study is the first to investigate the prevalence of filled opioid prescriptions among indigenous Sami people with self-reported chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMSP) and compare it with that of non-Sami living in the same area. Baseline data from the SAMINOR 2 Questionnaire Survey (2012) was linked prospectively to the Norwegian Prescription Database. Information on filled opioid prescriptions during 2012-2019 was collected for 4767 persons who reported CMSP in SAMINOR 2.

Socioeconomic risk factors for long-term opioid use: A national registry-linkage study.

Background: Opioid use has increased substantially as a treatment for chronic pain, although harms from long-term opioid therapy outweigh the benefits. More knowledge about factors associated with long-term opioid use is needed. We aimed to investigate the association between socioeconomic status and long-term opioid use in the period 2010-2019.

Cause-Specific Mortality among Patients in Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder in Multiple Settings: A Prospective Comparative Cohort Study.

Introduction: Among people receiving current or previous opioid maintenance treatment (OMT), the leading cause of premature death is an opioid overdose. However, other causes of mortality remain high in this group. An understanding of causes of deaths across multiple settings can be useful in informing more comprehensive prevention responses.

Prenatal opioid exposure and risk of asthma in childhood: a population-based study from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Opioids may modulate the immune function through opioid receptors on immune cells. Long-term consequences of prenatal opioid exposure on the immune system, such as childhood asthma, are unknown. To investigate whether prenatal opioid exposure is associated with the risk of childhood asthma.