Opioid prescriptions among Sami and non-Sami with chronic pain: The SAMINOR 2 Questionnaire Survey and the Norwegian Prescription Database

Astrid M A Eriksen; Marita Melhus; Berit Schei; Svetlana Skurtveit; Ann-Ragnhild Broderstad

doi:10.1080/22423982.2023.2241202

Opioid prescriptions among Sami and non-Sami with chronic pain: The SAMINOR 2 Questionnaire Survey and the Norwegian Prescription Database

Int J Circumpolar Health. 2023 Dec;82(1):2241202. doi: 10.1080/22423982.2023.2241202.

Authors

Astrid M A Eriksen¹, Marita Melhus¹, Berit Schei^{2

3}, Svetlana Skurtveit^{4

5}, Ann-Ragnhild Broderstad¹

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Sami Health Research, Department of Community Medicine, UiT the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
² Department of Public Health and Nursing, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway.
³ Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Trondheim, Norway.
⁴ Department of Mental Disorders, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
⁵ Norwegian Centre for Addiction Research (SERAF), Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.

Abstract

This study is the first to investigate the prevalence of filled opioid prescriptions among indigenous Sami people with self-reported chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMSP) and compare it with that of non-Sami living in the same area. Baseline data from the SAMINOR 2 Questionnaire Survey (2012) was linked prospectively to the Norwegian Prescription Database. Information on filled opioid prescriptions during 2012-2019 was collected for 4767 persons who reported CMSP in SAMINOR 2. Gender-stratified chi-square tests, two-sample t-tests, Kruskal - Wallis tests, and multinomial logistic regression was applied. Two out of three CMSP respondents received no or only one prescription of opioids during 2012-2019. In each year, 80% of women received no opioids, 7-10% received one prescription of ≤ 180 defined daily doses (DDD), 8-9% received in total ≤ 180 DDD in two or more prescriptions, and 2-3% received > 180 DDD of opioids. Among men, 81-83% received no opioids, 8-11% received one prescription with ≤ 180 DDD, 5-9% received ≤ 180 DDD in two or more prescriptions, and 1-2% received > 180 DDD of opioids in a single year. There were no overall ethnic differences, which indicates a similar prescription policy for opioids for Sami and non-Sami with CMSP.

Keywords: NorPD; SAMINOR; Sami; analgesic; chronic musculoskeletal pain; indigenous; opioids.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Analgesics, Opioid / therapeutic use
Chronic Pain* / drug therapy
Female
Humans
Male
Norway / epidemiology
Self Report
Surveys and Questionnaires

Substances

Analgesics, Opioid

Grants and funding

The study was funded by the Research Council of Norway (Grant Number 2899440). Skurtveit is funded in part by the Research Council of Norway (Grant Number 320360).