Opioid abuse, including abuse of prescription opioids
(“RxOs”) and illicit substances like heroin, is a serious public health issue
in Europe. Currently, there is limited data on the magnitude of RxO abuse in
Europe, despite increasing public and scientific interest in the issue. The
purpose of this study was to use the best-available data to derive comparable
estimates of the health care burden of RxO abuse in France, Germany, Italy,
Spain, and the United Kingdom (EU5).
Published data on the prevalence of problem opioid use and
the share of opioid abuse patients reporting misuse of non-heroin opioids were
used to estimate the prevalence of RxO abuse in the EU5 countries. The costs of
RxO abuse were calculated by applying published estimates of the incremental
health care costs of opioid abuse to country-specific estimates of the costs of
chronic pain conditions. These estimates were input into an economic model that
quantified the health care burden of RxO abuse in each of the EU5 countries.
Sensitivity analyses examined key assumptions.
Based on best-available current data, prevalence estimates
of RxO abuse ranged from 0.7 to 13.7 per 10,000 individuals across the EU5
countries. Estimates of the incremental health care costs of RxO abuse ranged
from €900 to €2,551 per patient per year. The annual health care cost burden of
RxO abuse ranged from €6,264 to €279,927 per 100,000 individuals across the EU5
countries.
This study suggests that RxO abuse imposes a cost burden on
health systems in the five largest European countries. The extent of RxO abuse
in Europe should be monitored given the potential for change over time.
Continued efforts should be made to collect reliable data on the prevalence and
costs of RxO abuse in Europe to facilitate an accurate characterization of the
extent of this potentially growing problem.
Below: Per patient annual incremental health care costs of RxO abuse.
Note: All costs are reported in 2013 euros.
Abbreviation: RxO, prescription opioid.
Below: Population-adjusted annual health care burden of RxO abuse.
Note: All costs are reported in 2013 euros.
Abbreviation: RxO, prescription opioid.
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2Mundipharma International Limited, Cambridge, UK
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