TY - JOUR
T1 - Is Europe Facing an Emerging Opioid Crisis Comparable to the U.S.?
AU - van Amsterdam, Jan
AU - Pierce, Mimi
AU - van den Brink, Wim
N1 - Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2020 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/2/1
Y1 - 2021/2/1
N2 - ABSTRACT: In the U.S., an opioid overdose crisis has emerged, attributable to over-prescription of opioid analgesics, driven by aggressive marketing by pharmaceutical companies, followed by surging heroin overdose deaths, and more recently, by the high mortality rates predominately because of illicitly manufactured fentanyl and analogs of fentanyl. In Europe, the use of prescription opioids for pain management has also increased in the last 2 decades, although it is debatable as to whether this could lead to a similar opioid overdose crisis. To address this issue, recent trends in opioid prescription rates, prevalence rates of fatal and nonfatal incidents, and addiction care treatment were used as proxies of opioid-related harm. The current overview, comparing opioid use and its negative consequences in Germany, France, the U.K., and the Netherlands, using the same indicators as in the U.S., demonstrates that there is no evidence of a current or emerging opioid crisis in these European countries. Scotland, however, is an alarming exception, with high rates of opioid-related harms. Considering that the use of prescription opioids has been declining rather than increasing in Europe, an opioid crisis is not anticipated there yet. Authorities should, however, remain vigilant.
AB - ABSTRACT: In the U.S., an opioid overdose crisis has emerged, attributable to over-prescription of opioid analgesics, driven by aggressive marketing by pharmaceutical companies, followed by surging heroin overdose deaths, and more recently, by the high mortality rates predominately because of illicitly manufactured fentanyl and analogs of fentanyl. In Europe, the use of prescription opioids for pain management has also increased in the last 2 decades, although it is debatable as to whether this could lead to a similar opioid overdose crisis. To address this issue, recent trends in opioid prescription rates, prevalence rates of fatal and nonfatal incidents, and addiction care treatment were used as proxies of opioid-related harm. The current overview, comparing opioid use and its negative consequences in Germany, France, the U.K., and the Netherlands, using the same indicators as in the U.S., demonstrates that there is no evidence of a current or emerging opioid crisis in these European countries. Scotland, however, is an alarming exception, with high rates of opioid-related harms. Considering that the use of prescription opioids has been declining rather than increasing in Europe, an opioid crisis is not anticipated there yet. Authorities should, however, remain vigilant.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85100069739&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1097/FTD.0000000000000789
DO - https://doi.org/10.1097/FTD.0000000000000789
M3 - Article
C2 - 32649487
SN - 0163-4356
VL - 43
SP - 42
EP - 51
JO - Therapeutic drug monitoring
JF - Therapeutic drug monitoring
IS - 1
ER -