Release Date
Geography
Language of Resource
Full Text Available
Open Access / OK to Reproduce
Peer Reviewed
Objective
This study investigates mortality risk associated with use of opioid analgesics, benzodiazepines, gabapentinoids, and opioid agonist treatment (OAT) among people with opioid dependence (PWOD).
Findings/Key points
Compared with no use, all medicines of interest were associated with increased accidental opioid overdose risk; hazard ratios (HR) ranged from 1.33 for opioid analgesic use to 6.10 for opioid analgesic, benzodiazepine and gabapentinoid use. Benzodiazepine use was associated with increased non-drug-induced accidents and non-drug-induced suicides. For all-cause mortality, all combinations of benzodiazepines and gabapentinoids with opioid analgesics were associated with increased risk. For most medicines/medicine combinations, all-cause mortality risk was reduced when in OAT compared to out of OAT. Higher opioid analgesic doses were associated with increased all-cause mortality.
Design/methods
Cohort of 37,994 PWOD initiating opioid analgesics between July 2003 and July 2018 in New South Wales, Australia.