Opioid prescribing habits differ between Denmark, Sweden and Norway - and they change over time

Background and aims The medical use of opioids in different countries is often subject to public concern and debate, frequently based on rough figures from prescription databases made for registration of consumption. However, public access to some of these databases allow for further exploration of the prescription data, which can be processed to increase knowledge and insight into national opioid prescribing-behavior. Denmark, Sweden and Norway are considered closely related with regard to health care and culture. So, this study aims to provide a more detailed picture of opioid prescribing and its changes in the three Scandinavian countries during 2006-2014, using public assessable prescription data. Methods Data on dispensed opioid prescriptions (ATC; N02A, and R05DA04) were downloaded from each country's prescription-databases. The amounts of dispensed opioids were used as proxy for consumption or use of opioids. Potential differences between dispensed prescriptions and actual use cannot be drawn from these databases. Consumption-data were converted from defined daily doses (DDDs) to mg oral morphine equivalents (omeqs). Changes in the choice of opioid-types, consumption and number of users were presented using descriptive statistics and compared. Results Opioid users: during the whole period, Norway had the highest, and Denmark the lowest, number of opioid users/1,000 inhabitants. From 2006 to 2014 the numbers of users/1,000 inhabitants changed from 98 to 105 in Norway, from 66 to 75 in Denmark, and from 79 to 78 in Sweden. Opioid consumption/1,000 inhabitants: The results depended much on the unit of measurement. The differences between the countries in consumption/1,000 inhabitants were small when DDDs was used as unit, while using mg omeqs significant differences between the countries appeared. Denmark had a much higher consumption of omeqs per 1,000 inhabitants compared to Sweden and Norway. Opioid consumption/user: during the whole period, Norway had the lowest, and Denmark the highest consumption/user. In 2006, the annual average consumption/user was 1979, 3615, 6025 mg omeq/user in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, respectively. In 2014 the corresponding consumption was 2426, 3473, 6361 mg omeq/user. The preferred choices of opioid-types changed during the period in all three countries. The balance between use of weak or strong opioids showed more prominent changes in Norway and Sweden compared to Denmark. Conclusions This study has shown how public assessable opioid prescription data can provide insight in the doctors' prescribing behavior, and how it might change over time. The amounts of dispensed opioids, opioid prescribing habits and changes were compared between the countries, and significant differences appeared. Within each country, the overall picture of opioid consumption appeared rather stable. Implications Studies like this can contribute to qualify the ongoing debates of use of opioids in different nations and to monitor effects of initiatives taken by health-care authorities and health-care policy-makers.