Key result
Gabapentinoid use among US adults increases ~292% over two decades.
Why the study?
Gabapentinoids are commonly used for numerous off-label conditions, but updated data on their use patterns in the US adult population were needed.
Observational (n=488,348)
Gabapentinoid use in the US adult population has continued to rise, reaching 4.7% in 2021, and is strongly associated with chronic pain conditions and concurrent use of other pain medications.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Rising gabapentinoid use may heighten polypharmacy risks; leaves open appropriateness and long-term outcomes in chronic pain.
Gabapentinoids are commonly used medications for numerous off-label conditions. The 2002-2021 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) was used to investigate the proportion of the adult population who were gabapentinoid users, the ages of these users, medications and diagnoses associated with users, and the likelihood of starting, stopping, or continuing gabapentinoids. Gabapentinoid users continued to increase since our last publication from 4.0% in 2015 to 4.7% in 2021. Gabapentinoid use was much more likely among individuals who used other medications used in chronic pain. Between 2017-2021, numerous chronic pain conditions were associated with gabapentinoid use. New gabapentinoid users clearly outnumbered gabapentinoid stoppers between 2011-2012 and 2017-2018, but this difference decreased in the most recent cohorts.
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Johansen et al. (2024) conducted an observational in Gabapentinoid use (n=488,348). Gabapentinoids vs. Previous years (2002, 2015) was evaluated on Proportion of the adult population reporting a gabapentinoid medication (95% CI 4.4-5.1, p=<0.01). The proportion of the US adult population using gabapentinoids increased from 1.2% in 2002 to 4.7% in 2021.
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