Prescription painkiller misuse and addiction are widespread in chronic pain patients

Press release issued: 8 August 2024

A new scientific review of 148 studies enrolling over 4.3 million adult chronic pain patients treated with prescription opioid painkillers has found that nearly one in ten patients experiences opioid dependence or opioid use disorder. The University of Bristol-led study, published in Addiction today [8 August], also found nearly one in three shows symptoms of dependence and opioid use disorder.

This review provides a more accurate and more concerning rate of opioid misuse than has previously been calculated.

Companies like Oxycontin manufacturer Purdue Pharma have claimed that fewer than 1 per cent of opioid prescriptions result in problems for patients. This new review, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), makes clear that such claims greatly understate the risk of opioid misuse and addiction.

Read the full University of Bristol news item

Paper: 'Prevalence of problematic pharmaceutical opioid use in patients with chronic non cancer pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis' by K H Thomas et al. in Addiction