Are medical comorbidities contributing to the use of opioid analgesics in patients with knee osteoarthritis?

Investigating the association of opioid prescription with the incidence of psychiatric disorders: nationwide cohort study in South Korea

BACKGROUND

The relationship between opioid use and the incidence of psychiatric disorders remains unidentified.

AIMS

This study examined the association between the incidence of psychiatric disorders and opioid use.

METHOD

Data for this population-based cohort study were obtained from the National Health Insurance Service of South Korea. The study included all adult patients who received opioids in 2016. The control group comprised individuals who did not receive opioids in 2016, and were selected using a 1:1 stratified random sampling procedure. Patients with a history of psychiatric disorders diagnosed in 2016 were excluded. The primary end-point was the diagnosis of psychiatric disorders, evaluated from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2021. Psychiatric disorders included schizophrenia, mood disorders, anxiety and others.

RESULTS

The analysis included 3 505 982 participants. Opioids were prescribed to 1 455 829 (41.5%) of these participants in 2016. Specifically, 1 187 453 (33.9%) individuals received opioids for 1-89 days, whereas 268 376 (7.7%) received opioids for ≥90 days. In the multivariable Cox regression model, those who received opioids had a 13% higher incidence of psychiatric disorder than those who did not (hazard ratio 1.13; 95% CI 1.13-1.14). Furthermore, both those prescribed opioids for 1-89 days and for ≥90 days had 13% (hazard ratio 1.13, 95% CI 1.12-1.14) and 17% (hazard ratio 1.17, 95% CI 1.16-1.18) higher incidences of psychiatric disorders, respectively, compared with those who did not receive opioids.

CONCLUSIONS

This study revealed that increased psychiatric disorders were associated with opioid medication use. The association was significant among both short- and long-term opioid use.

Opioid Prescription and Long-Term Survival Outcomes in Adults: A Nationwide Cohort Study in Korea

BACKGROUND

We aimed to investigate the association between short- and long-term opioid use and long-term mortality in Korea.

METHODS

In this population-based retrospective cohort study, data were obtained from the National Health Insurance Service of South Korea. The study included all adult individuals who were prescribed opioids in 2016. The control group comprised adults not prescribed opioids in 2016 selected using a 1:1 stratified random sampling technique. Participants were categorized into three groups: non-user, opioid 1-89 days user (short-term), and opioid ≥ 90 days user (long-term) groups. The primary endpoint in this study was 5-year all-cause mortality, evaluated from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2021.

RESULTS

In total, 4,556,606 adults were included in this study. Of these, 2,070,039 were prescribed opioids at least once. Specifically, 1,592,883 adult individuals were prescribed opioids for 1-89 days, while 477,156 adults were prescribed opioid for ≥ 90 days. In the multivariable Cox regression modelling, the opioid user group had a 28% (hazard ratio [HR], 1.28; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.26-1.29; P < 0.001) higher risk of 5-year all-cause mortality than had the non-user group. Moreover, the opioid 1-89 days and opioid ≥ 90 days user groups had 15% (HR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.14-1.17; P < 0.001) and 49% (HR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.47-1.51; P < 0.001) higher risks of 5-year all-cause mortality than had the non-user group, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Both short and long-term opioid prescriptions were associated with increased long-term mortality among the Korean adult population.

Trends in Healthy Life Expectancy (HALE) and Disparities by Income and Region in Korea (2008-2020): Analysis of a Nationwide Claims Database

BACKGROUND

Healthy life expectancy is a well-recognized indicator for establishing health policy goals used in Korea's Health Plan. This study aimed to explore Koreans' healthy life expectancy and its gender, income, and regional disparities from 2008 to 2020.

METHODS

This study was conducted on the entire population covered by health insurance and medical aid program in Korea. The incidence-based "years lived with disability" for 260 disease groups by gender, income level, and region was calculated employing the methodology developed in the Korean National Burden of Disease Study, and it was used as the number of healthy years lost to calculate health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE).

RESULTS

Koreans' HALE increased from 68.89 years in 2008 to 71.82 years in 2020. Although the gender disparity in HALE had been decreasing, it increased to 4.55 years in 2020. As of 2020, 5.90 years out of 8.67 years of the income disparity (Q5-Q1) in HALE were due to the disparity between Q1 and Q2, the low-income groups. Income and regional disparities in HALE exhibited an increasing trend, and these disparities were higher in men than in women.

CONCLUSION

A subgroup with a low health level was identified through the HALE results, and it was confirmed that improving the health level of this population can reduce health inequalities and improve health at the national level. Further exploration of the HALE calculation methodology may help in the development of effective policies such as prioritizing interventions for health risk factors.

Assessing causality between osteoarthritis and gastrointestinal disorders: a Mendelian randomization study

The association between osteoarthritis (OA) and gastrointestinal disorders was found in observational studies. However, the causality is still elusive. A bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis using genome wide association studies data was conducted to assess the causal association between OA and gastrointestinal diseases [including peptic ulcer disease (PUD), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GORD), and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)]. A two-step MR (TSMR) was conducted between OA, gastrointestinal diseases and drugs to explore the mediating effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and opioids use. We used multivariable MR (MVMR) analysis to further validate the impact of prescription history on diseases. Results had statistical significance at a Bonferroni corrected P-value below 0.008. We observed that genetically predicted OA had a significant positive association with GORD [odds ratio (OR) = 1.26, P = 5e-05], but not with PUD or IBD. Regarding the other direction, gastrointestinal disorders as exposure had a null association with OA. Using TSMR, OA patients tended to increase the use of NSAIDs (OR = 1.45, P = 0.001) and opioids (OR = 1.77, P = 2e-05), but only the use of opioids increased the risk of GORD (OR = 1.43, P = 5e-09). Further MVMR analysis showed that the adverse effect of OA on GORD was significantly reduced after adjusting for opioids use (OR = 1.20, P = 0.038). This study provides evidence for the causal association between OA and increased risk of GORD, which is partly attributed to opioids use in OA patients but not NSAIDs.

Efficacy and safety of Gutong Patch compared with NSAIDs for knee osteoarthritis: A real-world multicenter, prospective cohort study in China

The Gutong Patch (GTP) is common in clinical practice for bone diseases. This study compared the efficacy and safety of GTP and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for KOA patients from 35 medical centers assigned to GTP, selective COX-2 inhibitor (SCI), GTP + SCI, non-selective COX-2 inhibitor (NSCI), and GTP + NSCI groups. The visual analog scale (VAS) pain score, EuroQol-VAS, EuroQol 5D-3 L, time to articular pain relief / disappearance, and joint motion recovery were the efficacy assessments. Safety assessments included contact dermatitis, gastrointestinal disorders, etc. The p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. After statistical analysis, the SCI and GTP + SCI groups showed better improvement of VAS than the GTP group; the time to articular pain relief in the NSCI group was shorter than that in GTP and SCI group; the time to joint motion recovery in the GTP + NSCI group was longer than that in the SCI group. Additionally, the improvement of the quality of life in all groups was significant after treatments. While the incidence of gastrointestinal adverse events in the NSAIDs group was higher than that in the GTP and GTP + NSAIDs groups. GTP and NSAIDs are effective for KOA patients, and GTP is more suitable for KOA patients with cardiovascular and gastrointestinal comorbidities. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee at Peking Union Medical College Hospital (HS-1766) and registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2100046391).

Opioids for Osteoarthritis: Cross-Sectional Survey of Patient Perspectives and Satisfaction

Patients often take opioids to relieve osteoarthritis (OA) pain despite limited benefits and potential harms. This study aimed to compare cross-sectional perspectives of patients that were taking prescription opioid (N = 471) or nonopioid medications (N = 185) for OA in terms of satisfaction, expectations of effectiveness, and concerns. Patients prescribed opioids (>7 days) reported more prior treatments (2.47 vs. 1.74), greater mean pain intensity (5.47 vs. 4.11), and worse quality of life (EQ-5D-5L index value mean 0.45 vs. 0.71) than patients prescribed nonopioid medications (all p < 0.0001). Based on linear regression models adjusting for demographics and pain intensity, patients prescribed opioids were less satisfied with overall regimen (3.40 vs. 3.67, p = 0.0322), had less belief that medications were meeting effectiveness expectations (2.72 vs. 3.13, p < 0.0001), and had more concerns about treatments being "not very good" (3.66 vs. 3.22, p = 0.0026) and addiction (3.30 vs. 2.65, p < 0.0001) than patients prescribed nonopioid regimens. When the models were replicated for subgroups with ≥30 days' medication regimen duration, the findings were consistent with the main analyses. Patients have concerns about the risk of opioid addiction, but those with greater disease burden and more prior treatments continue taking opioid regimens.

Prescription patterns and predictors of unmet pain relief in patients with difficult-to-treat osteoarthritis in the Nordics: analyses from the BISCUITS study

OBJECTIVES

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. Pain is the most important symptom in OA, driving medical care, disability, reduced functionality, and decreased quality of life. The objective of this study was to describe prescription patterns of difficult-to-treat OA and explore possible predictors of unmet pain relief in Nordic patients.

METHODS

This observational cohort study included patients with a confirmed diagnosis of OA (index date) in specialty care in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2012 who were followed for up to 5 years. Four subgroups were pre-defined to characterize difficult-to-treat OA: (1) ≥2 chronic comorbidities in the 3-year pre-index period; (2) top 10% of healthcare resource users, 1-year post-index; (3) ≥3 types of prescription pain medications during pre-index period to first year post-index, with ≥30 days between types; (4) having a contraindication to a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). Patient characteristics, prescription patterns and predictors of unmet pain relief (defined as persistent opioid use, using several types of opioids or long-term NSAID use) were analyzed.

RESULTS

We identified 288,174 OA patients and the average age was 63.5 years at time of diagnosis and 58% of them were female. After 5 years, 35-50% of the patients defined as 'difficult-to-treat' had ≥1 prescription of opioids, compared to 20-25% of all OA patients (p-value <0.05). Comorbidities and disability pension were strong predictors of unmet pain relief (p-value <0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows a substantial use of pain medications (NSAID and opioids) in difficult-to-treat OA patients. These findings suggest that pain may be inadequately managed in a considerable number of patients with OA, particularly those with contraindications to an NSAID. A high comorbid and socioeconomic burden are relevant risk factors among patients who continue to use opioids for a long period of time.

Opioid Prescribing for Osteoarthritis: Cross-Sectional Survey among Primary Care Physicians, Rheumatologists, and Orthopaedic Surgeons

Opioids are often prescribed for osteoarthritis (OA) pain, despite recommendations to limit use due to minimal benefits and associated harms. This study aimed to assess physicians' practice patterns and perceptions regarding opioids by specialty one year following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published guidance on opioid prescribing. The 139/153 (90.8%) physicians who reported prescribing opioids in the previous year reported decreased prescribing for mild OA (51.3%, 26.5% and 33.3% of primary care physicians, rheumatologists, and orthopaedic surgeons, respectively), moderate OA (50.0%, 47.1% and 48.1%) and severe OA (43.6%, 41.2% and 44.4%). Prescribing changes were attributed to the CDC guidelines for 58.9% of primary care physicians, 59.1% of rheumatologists, and 73.3% of orthopaedic surgeons. Strong opioids were mostly reserved as third-line treatment. Although treatment effectiveness post-CDC guidelines was not assessed, perceptions of efficacy and quality of life with opioids significantly differed across specialties, whereas perceptions of safety, convenience/acceptability and costs did not. Physicians generally agreed on the barriers to opioid prescribing, with fear of addiction and drug abuse being the most important. Across specialties, physicians reported decreased opioid prescribing for OA, irrespective of OA severity, and in most cases attributed changes in prescribing to the CDC guideline.

Comorbidities and use of analgesics in people with knee pain: a study in the Nottingham Knee Pain and Health in the Community (KPIC) cohort

Objectives

The aims were to examine the prevalence of comorbidities and role of oral analgesic use in people with knee pain (KP) compared with those without.

Methods

The Knee Pain and related health In the Community (KPIC) cohort comprises community-derived adults aged ≥40 years, irrespective of knee pain. Thirty-six comorbidities across 10 systems were compared between people with KP and controls without KP or knee OA. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to determine the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and 95% CI for multimorbidity (at least two chronic conditions) and each specific comorbidity. Both prescribed and over-the-counter analgesics were included in the model, and their interactions with KP for comorbidity outcomes were examined.

Results

Two thousand eight hundred and thirty-two cases with KP and 2518 controls were selected from 9506 baseline participants. The mean age of KP cases was 62.2 years, and 57% were women. Overall, 29% of the total study population had multimorbidity (KP cases 34.4%; controls 23.8%). After adjustment for age, sex, BMI and analgesic use, KP was significantly associated with multimorbidity (aOR 1.35; 95% CI 1.17, 1.56) and with cardiovascular (aOR 1.25; 95% CI 1.08, 1.44), gastrointestinal (aOR 1.34; 95% CI 1.04, 1.92), chronic widespread pain (aOR 1.54; 95% CI 1.29, 1.86) and neurological (aOR 1.32; 95% CI 1.01, 1.76) comorbidities. For multimorbidity, the use of paracetamol and opioids interacted positively with KP, whereas the use of NSAIDs interacted negatively for seven comorbidities.

Conclusion

People with KP are more likely to have other chronic conditions. The long-term benefits and harms of this change remain to be investigated.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov, http://clinicaltrials.gov, NCT02098070.

Minimal clinically important difference for improvement in six-minute walk test in persons with knee osteoarthritis after total knee arthroplasty

BACKGROUND

The interpretability of the six-minute walk test (6MWT) in individuals with knee osteoarthritis (OA) is unclear. We aimed to determine the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for improvement in 6MWT in persons with knee OA at 12 months after total knee arthroplasty (TKA), and if it differed by baseline walking ability.

METHODS

Participants with knee OA were assessed 1 month pre- and 12 months post-TKA, including completion of 6MWT. At 12 months, participant-perceived change in walking ability was assessed on an 8-point Likert scale ranging from "extremely worse" to "extremely better". Using logistic regression, ROC curves examined the ability of change in 6MWT distance to discriminate those who perceived walking was improved. MCID was selected overall and then by quartile of baseline 6MWT distance using the Youden method.

RESULTS

Two hundred seventy-eight participants were included: mean age 67 years (SD 8.5), 65.5% female, mean pre-TKA 6MWT distance 323.1 (SD 104.7) m, and mean 12-mo 6MWT distance 396.0 (SD 111.9) m. The overall MCID was 74.3 m (AUC 0.65). Acceptable model discrimination (AUC > 0.70) was achieved for individuals in the lowest quartiles of baseline 6MWT distance: Quartile 1: MCID 88.63 m (AUC 0.73); Quartile 2: MCID 84.47 m (AUC 0.72).

CONCLUSIONS

In persons with knee OA 12 months post-TKA, 6MWT MCID is dependent on baseline walking ability. Poor model discrimination for those in the highest (best) quartiles of baseline walking ability raise questions about 6MWT use across the full spectrum of walking ability. Further research is needed to better understand use of 6MWT as a performance-based measure of physical function for persons with knee OA.

Effect of Dietary Polyphenols on Osteoarthritis—Molecular Mechanisms

Osteoarthritis is a common crippling and degenerative disease resulting in irreversible functional changes due to damage of the cartilage and other tissues of the joint. With limited safe and effective pharmaceutical treatments, the demand and use for alternative therapeutic approaches with symptomatic relief for OA patients have increased. Clinical, pre-clinical, and in vitro studies have demonstrated that polyphenols can exert pain-relieving symptoms coupled with increased functional capacity in OA models. This review will highlight studies carried out in the last five years to define the efficacies and underlying mechanisms in polyphenols such as quercetin, resveratrol, curcumin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, rosmarinic acid, genistein, ginger, berries, silver fir, pine bark, and Boswellia. Most of these studies indicate that polyphenols exhibit their beneficial roles through regulating changes at the biochemical and molecular levels, inducing or inhibiting various signaling pathways related to inflammation and oxidative stress. Polyphenols have also been implicated in modulating microRNA at the posttranscriptional level to counteract OA pathogenesis.

Osteoarthritis year in review 2021: epidemiology & therapy

This "Year in review" presents a selection of research themes and individual studies from the clinical osteoarthritis (OA) field (epidemiology and therapy) and includes noteworthy descriptive, analytical-observational, and intervention studies. The electronic database search for the review was conducted in Medline, Embase and medRxiv (15th April 2020 to 1st April 2021). Following study screening, the following OA-related themes emerged: COVID-19; disease burden; occupational risk; prediction models; cartilage loss and pain; stem cell treatments; novel pharmacotherapy trials; therapy for less well researched OA phenotypes; benefits and challenges of Individual Participant Data (IPD) meta-analyses; patient choice-balancing benefits and harms; OA and comorbidity; and inequalities in OA. Headline study findings included: a longitudinal cohort study demonstrating no evidence for a harmful effect of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in terms of COVID-19 related deaths; a Global Burden of Disease study reporting a 102% increase in crude incidence rate of OA in 2017 compared to 1990; a longitudinal study reporting cartilage thickness loss was associated with only a very small degree of worsening in pain over 2 years; an exploratory analysis of a non-OA randomised controlled trial (RCT) finding reduced risk of total joint replacement with an Interleukin -1β inhibitor (canakinumab); a significant relationship between cumulative disadvantage and clinical outcomes of pain and depression mediated by perceived discrimination in a secondary analysis from a RCT; worsening socioeconomic circumstances were associated with future arthritis diagnosis in an innovative natural experiment (with implications for unique research possibilities arising from the COVID-19 pandemic context).

Comorbidities do not limit improvement in pain and physical function after total knee arthroplasty in patients with knee osteoarthritis: the BEST-Knee prospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE

To assess the relationship between comorbidities and amount of improvement in pain and physical function in recipients of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) for knee osteoarthritis (OA).

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study.

SETTING

Two provincial central intake hip and knee centres in Alberta, Canada.

PARTICIPANTS

1051 participants (278 in 6-minute walk test (6MWT) subset), ≥30 years of age with primary knee OA referred for consultation regarding elective primary TKA; assessed 1 month prior and 12 months after TKA.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

Pre-post TKA change in knee OA pain (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC)), physical function (Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) Physical Function Short-Form) and 6MWT walking distance; and the reporting of an acceptable symptom state (Patient Acceptable Symptom State (PASS)) at 12 months after TKA.

RESULTS

Mean participant age was 67 years (SD 8.8), 59% were female and 85% reported at least one comorbidity. Individuals with a higher number of comorbidities had worse pre-TKA and post-TKA scores for pain, physical function and 6MWT distance. At 12-month follow-up, mean changes in pain, function and 6MWT distance, and proportion reporting a PASS, were similar for those with and without comorbidities. In multivariable regression analysis, adjusted for potential confounders and clustering by surgeon, no specific comorbidities nor total number of comorbidities were associated with less improvement in pain, physical function or 6MWT distance at 12 months after TKA. Patients with diabetes (OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.44 to 0.94) and a higher number of lower extremity troublesome joints (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.76 to 0.96) had lower odds of reporting a PASS.

CONCLUSION

For individuals with knee OA, comorbid conditions do not limit improvement in pain, physical function or walking ability after TKA, and most conditions do not impact achieving an acceptable symptom state.

Opioidanalgetika bei Gonarthrose: häufigere Einnahme bei Begleiterkrankungen

Obwohl Opioidanalgetika im Allgemeinen nicht zur Behandlung einer Gonarthrose empfohlen werden, kommen sie dennoch häufig zum Einsatz. Eine kanadische Arbeitsgruppe hat den Zusammenhang zwischen Begleiterkrankungen und der von Gonarthrose-Patienten berichteten Verwendung von Opioidanalgetika untersucht.