Opioid prescriptions rise in England despite poor efficacy and harms, finds study

The number of opioid drugs prescribed in England is steadily rising despite a lack of effectiveness for treating chronic pain and their potentially serious side effects, a study has found.1

Researchers also found that opioid prescriptions by GPs are higher in deprived areas and northern England.

The retrospective observational study, led by Luke Mordecai, a pain research fellow at University College London Hospital, examined official government data on opioids prescribed in primary practice in England from August 2010 to February …