Trends in prescription opioid use in Europe: A DARWIN EU(®) multinational cohort study including seven European countries. Xie, J., Du, M., Guo, Y., Barboza, C., Brash, J. T., Delmestri, A., Duarte-Salles, T., Gratton, J., Griffier, R., Kolde, R., Man, W. Y., Mercadé-Besora, N., Oja, M., Seager, S., Verhamme, K., Vojinovic, D., Burn, E., Prieto-Alhambra, D., Català, M., & Jödicke, A. M. Front Pharmacol, 16:1608051, 2025. 1663-9812 Xie, Junqing Du, Mike Guo, Yuchen Barboza, Cesar Brash, James T Delmestri, Antonella Duarte-Salles, Talita Gratton, Jasmine Griffier, Romain Kolde, Raivo Man, Wai Yi Mercadé-Besora, Núria Oja, Marek Seager, Sarah Verhamme, Katia Vojinovic, Dina Burn, Edward Prieto-Alhambra, Daniel Català, Martí Jödicke, Annika M Journal Article Switzerland 2025/09/03 Front Pharmacol. 2025 Aug 18;16:1608051. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1608051. eCollection 2025.doi abstract bibtex BACKGROUND: The opioid crisis has been a serious public health challenge in North America for decades, despite numerous efforts to mitigate its devastating consequences. As concerns grow about a similar situation developing in Europe, we evaluated the trends in opioid use and characterized prescribing indications across seven European countries. METHODS: We conducted a multinational cohort study using electronic health records from various healthcare settings: primary care [Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) GOLD (United Kingdom), Sistema d'Informació per al Desenvolupament de la Investigació en Atenció Primària (SIDIAP, Spain), and Integrated Primary Care Information Project (IPCI, the Netherlands)]; primary and outpatient specialist care [IQVIA Disease Analyzer (DA) Germany and IQVIA Longitudinal Patient Database (LPD) Belgium]; hospital care [Clinical Data Warehouse of Bordeaux University Hospital (CHUBX, France)]; and the Estonian Biobank (EBB). All data were mapped to the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) Common Data Model (CDM). All people registered in a contributing database for ≥365 days between 2012 and 2022 were included. Annual period prevalence and incidence rates of opioid prescriptions were estimated, and long-term trends were quantified as the percent change from 2012 to 2019. New opioid users were characterized, including potential prescribing indications. RESULTS: Between 2012 and 2019, the incidence of opioid prescriptions in primary care decreased by -50·7% (CPRD GOLD) and -2·0% (SIDIAP), while it increased in EBB (+52·8%) and CHUBX (+25·3%) data. The incidence of codeine and tramadol use decreased in most databases. However, the prevalence of oxycodone, morphine, and fentanyl increased. Opioid use was highest among older age groups, and the majority of prescriptions were for oral formulations. Respiratory and pain-related conditions were the most common indications for new opioid users in outpatient settings. CONCLUSION: Despite a decrease in new opioid prescriptions in many European countries, the prevalence of opioid use remained largely stable over the last decade. More data are needed to monitor evolving opioid prescription patterns in Europe, particularly in the post-pandemic era.
@article{RN502,
author = {Xie, J. and Du, M. and Guo, Y. and Barboza, C. and Brash, J. T. and Delmestri, A. and Duarte-Salles, T. and Gratton, J. and Griffier, R. and Kolde, R. and Man, W. Y. and Mercadé-Besora, N. and Oja, M. and Seager, S. and Verhamme, K. and Vojinovic, D. and Burn, E. and Prieto-Alhambra, D. and Català, M. and Jödicke, A. M.},
title = {Trends in prescription opioid use in Europe: A DARWIN EU(®) multinational cohort study including seven European countries},
journal = {Front Pharmacol},
volume = {16},
pages = {1608051},
note = {1663-9812
Xie, Junqing
Du, Mike
Guo, Yuchen
Barboza, Cesar
Brash, James T
Delmestri, Antonella
Duarte-Salles, Talita
Gratton, Jasmine
Griffier, Romain
Kolde, Raivo
Man, Wai Yi
Mercadé-Besora, Núria
Oja, Marek
Seager, Sarah
Verhamme, Katia
Vojinovic, Dina
Burn, Edward
Prieto-Alhambra, Daniel
Català, Martí
Jödicke, Annika M
Journal Article
Switzerland
2025/09/03
Front Pharmacol. 2025 Aug 18;16:1608051. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1608051. eCollection 2025.},
abstract = {BACKGROUND: The opioid crisis has been a serious public health challenge in North America for decades, despite numerous efforts to mitigate its devastating consequences. As concerns grow about a similar situation developing in Europe, we evaluated the trends in opioid use and characterized prescribing indications across seven European countries. METHODS: We conducted a multinational cohort study using electronic health records from various healthcare settings: primary care [Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) GOLD (United Kingdom), Sistema d'Informació per al Desenvolupament de la Investigació en Atenció Primària (SIDIAP, Spain), and Integrated Primary Care Information Project (IPCI, the Netherlands)]; primary and outpatient specialist care [IQVIA Disease Analyzer (DA) Germany and IQVIA Longitudinal Patient Database (LPD) Belgium]; hospital care [Clinical Data Warehouse of Bordeaux University Hospital (CHUBX, France)]; and the Estonian Biobank (EBB). All data were mapped to the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) Common Data Model (CDM). All people registered in a contributing database for ≥365 days between 2012 and 2022 were included. Annual period prevalence and incidence rates of opioid prescriptions were estimated, and long-term trends were quantified as the percent change from 2012 to 2019. New opioid users were characterized, including potential prescribing indications. RESULTS: Between 2012 and 2019, the incidence of opioid prescriptions in primary care decreased by -50·7% (CPRD GOLD) and -2·0% (SIDIAP), while it increased in EBB (+52·8%) and CHUBX (+25·3%) data. The incidence of codeine and tramadol use decreased in most databases. However, the prevalence of oxycodone, morphine, and fentanyl increased. Opioid use was highest among older age groups, and the majority of prescriptions were for oral formulations. Respiratory and pain-related conditions were the most common indications for new opioid users in outpatient settings. CONCLUSION: Despite a decrease in new opioid prescriptions in many European countries, the prevalence of opioid use remained largely stable over the last decade. More data are needed to monitor evolving opioid prescription patterns in Europe, particularly in the post-pandemic era.},
keywords = {common data model
electronic health records
opioids
real-world data
trends multinational},
ISSN = {1663-9812 (Print)
1663-9812},
DOI = {10.3389/fphar.2025.1608051},
year = {2025},
type = {Journal Article}
}
Downloads: 0
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M."],"bibdata":{"bibtype":"article","type":"Journal Article","author":[{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Xie"],"firstnames":["J."],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Du"],"firstnames":["M."],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Guo"],"firstnames":["Y."],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Barboza"],"firstnames":["C."],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Brash"],"firstnames":["J.","T."],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Delmestri"],"firstnames":["A."],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Duarte-Salles"],"firstnames":["T."],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Gratton"],"firstnames":["J."],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Griffier"],"firstnames":["R."],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Kolde"],"firstnames":["R."],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Man"],"firstnames":["W.","Y."],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Mercadé-Besora"],"firstnames":["N."],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Oja"],"firstnames":["M."],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Seager"],"firstnames":["S."],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Verhamme"],"firstnames":["K."],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Vojinovic"],"firstnames":["D."],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Burn"],"firstnames":["E."],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Prieto-Alhambra"],"firstnames":["D."],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Català"],"firstnames":["M."],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Jödicke"],"firstnames":["A.","M."],"suffixes":[]}],"title":"Trends in prescription opioid use in Europe: A DARWIN EU(®) multinational cohort study including seven European countries","journal":"Front Pharmacol","volume":"16","pages":"1608051","note":"1663-9812 Xie, Junqing Du, Mike Guo, Yuchen Barboza, Cesar Brash, James T Delmestri, Antonella Duarte-Salles, Talita Gratton, Jasmine Griffier, Romain Kolde, Raivo Man, Wai Yi Mercadé-Besora, Núria Oja, Marek Seager, Sarah Verhamme, Katia Vojinovic, Dina Burn, Edward Prieto-Alhambra, Daniel Català, Martí Jödicke, Annika M Journal Article Switzerland 2025/09/03 Front Pharmacol. 2025 Aug 18;16:1608051. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1608051. eCollection 2025.","abstract":"BACKGROUND: The opioid crisis has been a serious public health challenge in North America for decades, despite numerous efforts to mitigate its devastating consequences. As concerns grow about a similar situation developing in Europe, we evaluated the trends in opioid use and characterized prescribing indications across seven European countries. METHODS: We conducted a multinational cohort study using electronic health records from various healthcare settings: primary care [Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) GOLD (United Kingdom), Sistema d'Informació per al Desenvolupament de la Investigació en Atenció Primària (SIDIAP, Spain), and Integrated Primary Care Information Project (IPCI, the Netherlands)]; primary and outpatient specialist care [IQVIA Disease Analyzer (DA) Germany and IQVIA Longitudinal Patient Database (LPD) Belgium]; hospital care [Clinical Data Warehouse of Bordeaux University Hospital (CHUBX, France)]; and the Estonian Biobank (EBB). All data were mapped to the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) Common Data Model (CDM). All people registered in a contributing database for ≥365 days between 2012 and 2022 were included. Annual period prevalence and incidence rates of opioid prescriptions were estimated, and long-term trends were quantified as the percent change from 2012 to 2019. New opioid users were characterized, including potential prescribing indications. RESULTS: Between 2012 and 2019, the incidence of opioid prescriptions in primary care decreased by -50·7% (CPRD GOLD) and -2·0% (SIDIAP), while it increased in EBB (+52·8%) and CHUBX (+25·3%) data. The incidence of codeine and tramadol use decreased in most databases. However, the prevalence of oxycodone, morphine, and fentanyl increased. Opioid use was highest among older age groups, and the majority of prescriptions were for oral formulations. Respiratory and pain-related conditions were the most common indications for new opioid users in outpatient settings. CONCLUSION: Despite a decrease in new opioid prescriptions in many European countries, the prevalence of opioid use remained largely stable over the last decade. More data are needed to monitor evolving opioid prescription patterns in Europe, particularly in the post-pandemic era.","keywords":"common data model electronic health records opioids real-world data trends multinational","issn":"1663-9812 (Print) 1663-9812","doi":"10.3389/fphar.2025.1608051","year":"2025","bibtex":"@article{RN502,\r\n author = {Xie, J. and Du, M. and Guo, Y. and Barboza, C. and Brash, J. T. and Delmestri, A. and Duarte-Salles, T. and Gratton, J. and Griffier, R. and Kolde, R. and Man, W. Y. and Mercadé-Besora, N. and Oja, M. and Seager, S. and Verhamme, K. and Vojinovic, D. and Burn, E. and Prieto-Alhambra, D. and Català, M. and Jödicke, A. M.},\r\n title = {Trends in prescription opioid use in Europe: A DARWIN EU(®) multinational cohort study including seven European countries},\r\n journal = {Front Pharmacol},\r\n volume = {16},\r\n pages = {1608051},\r\n note = {1663-9812\r\nXie, Junqing\r\nDu, Mike\r\nGuo, Yuchen\r\nBarboza, Cesar\r\nBrash, James T\r\nDelmestri, Antonella\r\nDuarte-Salles, Talita\r\nGratton, Jasmine\r\nGriffier, Romain\r\nKolde, Raivo\r\nMan, Wai Yi\r\nMercadé-Besora, Núria\r\nOja, Marek\r\nSeager, Sarah\r\nVerhamme, Katia\r\nVojinovic, Dina\r\nBurn, Edward\r\nPrieto-Alhambra, Daniel\r\nCatalà, Martí\r\nJödicke, Annika M\r\nJournal Article\r\nSwitzerland\r\n2025/09/03\r\nFront Pharmacol. 2025 Aug 18;16:1608051. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1608051. eCollection 2025.},\r\n abstract = {BACKGROUND: The opioid crisis has been a serious public health challenge in North America for decades, despite numerous efforts to mitigate its devastating consequences. As concerns grow about a similar situation developing in Europe, we evaluated the trends in opioid use and characterized prescribing indications across seven European countries. METHODS: We conducted a multinational cohort study using electronic health records from various healthcare settings: primary care [Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) GOLD (United Kingdom), Sistema d'Informació per al Desenvolupament de la Investigació en Atenció Primària (SIDIAP, Spain), and Integrated Primary Care Information Project (IPCI, the Netherlands)]; primary and outpatient specialist care [IQVIA Disease Analyzer (DA) Germany and IQVIA Longitudinal Patient Database (LPD) Belgium]; hospital care [Clinical Data Warehouse of Bordeaux University Hospital (CHUBX, France)]; and the Estonian Biobank (EBB). All data were mapped to the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) Common Data Model (CDM). All people registered in a contributing database for ≥365 days between 2012 and 2022 were included. Annual period prevalence and incidence rates of opioid prescriptions were estimated, and long-term trends were quantified as the percent change from 2012 to 2019. New opioid users were characterized, including potential prescribing indications. RESULTS: Between 2012 and 2019, the incidence of opioid prescriptions in primary care decreased by -50·7% (CPRD GOLD) and -2·0% (SIDIAP), while it increased in EBB (+52·8%) and CHUBX (+25·3%) data. The incidence of codeine and tramadol use decreased in most databases. However, the prevalence of oxycodone, morphine, and fentanyl increased. Opioid use was highest among older age groups, and the majority of prescriptions were for oral formulations. Respiratory and pain-related conditions were the most common indications for new opioid users in outpatient settings. CONCLUSION: Despite a decrease in new opioid prescriptions in many European countries, the prevalence of opioid use remained largely stable over the last decade. More data are needed to monitor evolving opioid prescription patterns in Europe, particularly in the post-pandemic era.},\r\n keywords = {common data model\r\nelectronic health records\r\nopioids\r\nreal-world data\r\ntrends multinational},\r\n ISSN = {1663-9812 (Print)\r\n1663-9812},\r\n DOI = {10.3389/fphar.2025.1608051},\r\n year = {2025},\r\n type = {Journal Article}\r\n}\r\n\r\n","author_short":["Xie, J.","Du, M.","Guo, Y.","Barboza, C.","Brash, J. T.","Delmestri, A.","Duarte-Salles, T.","Gratton, J.","Griffier, R.","Kolde, R.","Man, W. Y.","Mercadé-Besora, N.","Oja, M.","Seager, S.","Verhamme, K.","Vojinovic, D.","Burn, E.","Prieto-Alhambra, D.","Català, M.","Jödicke, A. M."],"key":"RN502","id":"RN502","bibbaseid":"xie-du-guo-barboza-brash-delmestri-duartesalles-gratton-etal-trendsinprescriptionopioiduseineuropeadarwineumultinationalcohortstudyincludingseveneuropeancountries-2025","role":"author","urls":{},"keyword":["common data model electronic health records opioids real-world data trends multinational"],"metadata":{"authorlinks":{}},"html":""},"bibtype":"article","biburl":"https://bibbase.org/network/files/qwipow2DJsAxqNp83","dataSources":["PcZMFHooKwpboi2he","jZMXEeHTfokmisJDv"],"keywords":["common data model electronic health records opioids real-world data trends multinational"],"search_terms":["trends","prescription","opioid","use","europe","darwin","multinational","cohort","study","including","seven","european","countries","xie","du","guo","barboza","brash","delmestri","duarte-salles","gratton","griffier","kolde","man","mercadé-besora","oja","seager","verhamme","vojinovic","burn","prieto-alhambra","català","jödicke"],"title":"Trends in prescription opioid use in Europe: A DARWIN EU(®) multinational cohort study including seven European countries","year":2025}