Open AccessConcurrent Opioid and Benzodiazepine Prescriptions Among Older Women Diagnosed With Breast Cancer
Author(s) -
Devon K. Check,
Aaron Winn,
Nicole Fergestrom,
Katherine E. ReederHayes,
Joan Neuner,
Andrew W. Roberts
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of the national cancer institute
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.797
H-Index - 356
eISSN - 1460-2105
pISSN - 0027-8874
DOI - 10.1093/jnci/djz201
Subject(s) - benzodiazepine , breast cancer , medicine , medical prescription , opioid , cancer , oncology , psychiatry , pharmacology , receptor
Guidelines recommend using caution in co-prescribing opioids with benzodiazepines, yet, in practice, the extent of concurrent prescribing is poorly understood. Notably, no population-based studies, to our knowledge, have investigated concurrent prescribing among patients with cancer. We conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database linked with Medicare claims (2012-2016) for women diagnosed with breast cancer. We used modified Poisson regression to examine predictors of any concurrent prescriptions in the year post-diagnosis and Poisson regression to examine predictors of the number of overlapping days. We found that 13.0% of the 19 267 women in our sample had concurrent prescriptions. Women who underwent more extensive treatment and those with previous use of opioids or benzodiazepines were at increased risk for concurrent prescriptions (adjusted risk ratio of previous benzodiazepine use vs no previous use = 15.05, 95% confidence interval = 13.19 to 17.19). Among women with concurrent prescriptions, overlap was most pronounced among low-income, rural, and Hispanic women (adjusted incidence rate ratio of Hispanic vs non-Hispanic white = 1.25, 95% confidence interval = 1.20 to 1.30). Our results highlight opportunities to reduce patients' unnecessary exposure to this combination.