North-south divide revealed as prescription of opioid drugs rise

The prescription of opioid drugs by GPs in England is steadily rising, especially in more deprived communities, even though they can cause complications and adverse effects and do not work for chronic pain, a UCL study has revealed. The study, led by Dr Luke Mordecai, a pain research fellow at University College London Hospital (UCLH) found that over a 43 month period between 2010 and 2014 there was a rise in opioid prescribing. It also revealed a north-south divide with nine out of ten of the highest prescribing areas located in the north of England. "There was an association between social deprivation and higher opioid prescription," wrote the authors in the British Journal of General Practice. They said opioids were rightly given to people to cope with cancer pain and short-lived acute pain. However, the widespread prescribing of opioids for people with long-term pain was controversial because "opioids are ineffective in much chronic pain beyond modest effects in the short term". They are also potentially dangerous particularly with long term use and larger regular doses, leading to problems such as addiction and abuse, hyperalgesia, gastrointestinal disturbance, immunological dysfunction, risk of fracture in older people and increased mortality.