Opioid use and the presence of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias among elderly Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with chronic pain conditions

Chan Shen, Xiaohui Zhao, Nilanjana Dwibedi, R. Constance Wiener, Patricia A. Findley, Usha Sambamoorthi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

Introduction: There is scant literature on the use of opioids among community-dwelling elderly with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). Methods: We adopted a retrospective, cross-sectional study design using Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey data from 2006 to 2013. The study sample included elderly community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries who were diagnosed with chronic pain conditions and had Medicare fee-for-service plans for the entire year. We conducted bivariate χ2 test and multivariate logistic regression to examine the relationship between opioid use and ADRD status. Results: The study sample included 19,347 Medicare beneficiaries; 7.7% of them had ADRD. We found no statistically significant difference in opioid use by ADRD status in the unadjusted analysis; however, controlling for various factors, those with ADRD had lower odds of opioid use (adjusted odds ratio = 0.81, 95% confidence interval = 0.71, 0.93) than those without ADRD. Discussion: This population-based study suggests that elderly Medicare beneficiaries with ADRD and chronic pain conditions may have undertreatment of pain.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)661-668
Number of pages8
JournalAlzheimer's and Dementia: Translational Research and Clinical Interventions
Volume4
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2018

Keywords

  • Alzheimer's disease and related dementias
  • Chronic pain conditions
  • Elderly population
  • Medicare
  • Opioid use

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