• Global disparities persist in opioid pai

    From ScienceDaily@1:317/3 to All on Thu Mar 31 22:30:44 2022
    Global disparities persist in opioid painkiller access

    Date:
    March 31, 2022
    Source:
    University College London
    Summary:
    Global opioid sales increased by an estimated 4% annually from
    2015 to 2019, but massive disparities in access to essential pain
    relief medications persist between countries, a new study finds.



    FULL STORY ========================================================================== Global opioid sales increased by an estimated 4% annually from 2015
    to 2019, but massive disparities in access to essential pain relief
    medications persist between countries, finds a study led by UCL
    researchers.


    ========================================================================== Opioid use in some countries in Africa and South America was less than
    one tenth of 1% of the rates in wealthier countries in North America,
    Europe and Australia, according to the findings published in The Lancet
    Public Health.

    Some countries are starting to catch up, as the overall picture is one
    of gradual geographic convergence in opioid consumption.

    North America has seen a decline in opioid use, likely the result of
    efforts to reduce inappropriate prescribing to curb deadly opioid misuse,
    so multiple European countries, led by Switzerland, Germany, and Spain,
    have surpassed the United States in opioid sales.

    Lead author Dr Wallis Lau (UCL School of Pharmacy) said: "We found that
    while there is some improvement in a lot of countries, there are still concerningly low rates of opioid use in large parts of the world, even
    in numerous middle- income countries.

    "Opioids have been listed by the World Health Organization as an essential class of medicine for acute pain, cancer-related pain, and palliative
    care since 1977, so it is troubling that in many parts of the world,
    people are unable to access this medicine. There is an urgent need to
    tackle the global gap in opioid access.



    ========================================================================== "Some countries have low opioid analgesic consumption despite a high
    cancer prevalence, which could suggest inadequate access to opioid
    analgesics as much- needed pain control." The researchers analysed
    the global pharmaceutical sales data of 66 countries or regions from
    the IQVIA-Multinational Integrated Data Analysis System database on
    opioid analgesics (painkillers) between 2015 and 2019. This included medications such as morphine and codeine, and included both prescription
    and over-the-counter medications.

    They found that across the surveyed countries, opioid analgesic sales
    increased from 27.52 milligram morphine equivalent per 1,000 inhabitants
    per day in 2015, to 29.51 in 2019.

    The highest rate was found in Canada, at 988 MME per 1,000/day, which
    had gone down from 1,581 in 2015.

    For comparison, the UK rate was at 639 MME per 1,000/day, a slight
    decline from 2015.



    ==========================================================================
    At the other end of the scale, a group of 12 West African countries
    reported only 0.01 MME per 1,000/day, while a few other countries,
    including three in South America, also reported rates below 1 MME per 1,000/day.

    The researchers say the disparities go beyond factors such as wealth,
    overall healthcare network quality, or cancer rates, as there are
    differences in attitudes of doctors and patients towards the use of opioid
    pain killers. Some relatively wealthy countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia reported very low rates, at 0.79 and 1.24, respectively, while some countries like Kazakhstan reported low rates
    of opioid consumption (5.4) despite high cancer prevalence or cancer
    death rates.

    Opioid consumption rates did increase across the study period in most
    areas that reported low use, including Eastern Europe, Asia, and South
    America, but not in Africa.

    Joint senior author Professor Ian Wong (UCL School of Pharmacy and
    University of Hong Kong) said: "These findings reinforce the need to
    recognise palliative care and pain relief as a global public health
    priority. In countries that already have good access to opioid analgesics,
    it is important to avoid opioid misuse and overprescribing, without
    leaving patients undertreated." First author, PhD student Chengsheng Ju
    (UCL School of Pharmacy) said: "Our data calls for global policies to
    improve the integration of palliative care and pain relief provision
    into healthcare systems, as well as the promotion of end-of-life care
    education and staff training."

    ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_College_London. Note:
    Content may be edited for style and length.


    ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
    1. Chengsheng Ju, Li Wei, Kenneth K C Man, Zixuan Wang, Tian-Tian Ma,
    Adrienne Y L Chan, Ruth Brauer, Celine S L Chui, Esther W Chan,
    Yogini H Jani, Yingfen Hsia, Ian C K Wong, Wallis C Y Lau. Global,
    regional, and national trends in opioid analgesic consumption
    from 2015 to 2019: a longitudinal study. The Lancet Public Health,
    2022; 7 (4): e335 DOI: 10.1016/S2468-2667(22)00013-5 ==========================================================================

    Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220331101612.htm

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