Opioid dispensing among adult Medicaid enrollees by diabetes status

• Authors: Boon Peng Ng, University of Central Florida; Elizabeth M Rabold, Emory University; Gery P Guy, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta; Chanhyun Park, Northeastern University; Ping Zhang, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta; Bryce D Smith, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta
• Journal Title: CURRENT MEDICAL RESEARCH AND OPINION
• Volume: Volume 36, Number 10
• Publisher: TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD | 2020-09-11, Pages 1577-1581
• Type of Work: Article | Post-print: After Peer Review
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.1080/03007995.2020.1815687
• Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing; Health Sciences, Pharmacy
• Keywords: Science & Technology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Medicine, General & Internal; Medicine, Research & Experimental; General & Internal Medicine; Research & Experimental Medicine; Opioid; diabetes; pain; Medicaid; prescription; UNITED-STATES; CHRONIC PAIN; PRESCRIPTION; ABUSE; SEX

Abstract

Objective: Diabetes disproportionately affects low-income individuals, many of whom are covered by Medicaid. Comorbidities and complications of diabetes can lead to chronic pain; however, little is known about opioid use patterns among Medicaid enrollees with diabetes. This study examined opioid dispensing among Medicaid enrollees by diabetes status. Methods: Medicaid claims data from 2014 were used to examine opioid dispensing by diabetes status among 622,992 adult enrollees aged 19–64 years. A logistic model adjusting for demographics and comorbidities was used to examine the association between diabetes and opioid dispensing among enrollees. Analyses were completed in 2019. Results: Overall, 61.6% of enrollees with diabetes filled at least one opioid prescription compared to 31.8% of enrollees without diabetes. A higher proportion of enrollees with diabetes had long-term opioid prescriptions (>90 days’ supply) (with diabetes: 51.0% vs. without: 32.1%, p <.001). Characteristics of individual prescriptions, including daily morphine milligram equivalents (45.9 vs. 49.4), formulation (percent short-acting: 91.5% vs. 90.7%), and type of opioids (i.e. percent hydrocodone: 46.7 vs. 45.3), were similar for those with and without diabetes. After adjustment, enrollees with diabetes were 1.43 times more likely to receive an opioid prescription compared to those without (95% CI, 1.40–1.46). Conclusions: Medicaid enrollees with diabetes were prescribed opioids more frequently and were more likely to have longer opioid supply than enrollees without diabetes. For practitioners who care for patients with diabetes, aligning pain management approaches with evidence-based resources, like the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, can encourage safer opioid prescribing practices.