About the project
Since 2016, there have been more overdose deaths due to the use of painkillers than from heroin in Norway. We lack sufficient knowledge about prescription patterns and the risks associated with the use of opioid medications in Norway.
We need to know more about the trend in the number of long-term users of opioids, especially focusing on the use of tramadol and strong opioids such as oxycodone. In addition, a focus on the combined use of opioids and benzodiazepines is important.
We also require more knowledge about opioid use in various patient groups, such as those receiving opioids through a "blå resept" (reimbursed prescription), and patients with cancer, chronic pain, substance use issues, or trauma, and those who are pregnant, as well as various age groups and genders to better understand which groups have a higher prevalence of harmful opioid use.
Objectives
The aim of the project is to describe the extent of the use of opioid painkillers in Norway, including the development over time.
Additional goals are to investigate whether subgroups of opioid painkiller users have a different risk of serious events, such as developing problematic use or overdose deaths.
A possible "opioid epidemic" is a moving target and this development must be monitored over time.
Background
The project began in 2019 and has been a contributing factor to SERAF's ability to further attract additional external funding from the Research Council of Norway (NFR) for what is now the SERAF-anchored POINT project (2021-2025). The two projects interact and have partially integrated activities
Financing
Cooperation
Selected publications
- Pills and the damage done: the opioid epidemic as man-made crisis Rebecca McDonald, Desiree Eide, Svetlana Skurtveit, Thomas Clausen Frontiers Public Health 2024
- Prescribed opioid analgesic use developments in three Nordic countries, 2006-2017 Muller, A.E., Clausen, T., Sjøgren, P., Odsbu, I., Skurtveit, S., Scandinavian Journal of Pain, 2019, 19(2), pp. 345–353
- Tramadol use in Norway: A register-based population study Birke, H., Ekholm, O., Sjøgren, P., .Clausen, T., Skurtveit, S. Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety, 2019, 28(1), pp. 54–61
- Forskrivning av opioider pa blå resept mot langvarige smerter Skurtveit, S., Hjellvik, V., Sakshaug, S., Heggen, E.E., Handal, M. Tidsskrift for den Norske Laegeforening, 2020, 140(15), pp. 1–8
- Fatal drug overdoses in individuals treated pharmacologically for chronic pain: a nationwide register-based study Hamina, A., Odsbu, I., Hjellvik, V., Clausen, T., Skurtveit, S. British Journal of Anaesthesia, 2024, 132(1), pp. 86–95
- Prescription high-risk polysubstance use among opioid maintenance treatment patients Eide, D., McDonald, R., Hamina, A., Odsbu, I., Skurtveit, S.
- International Journal of Drug Policy, 2023, 104196
- Individuals Dying of Overdoses Related to Pharmaceutical Opioids Differ from Individuals Dying of Overdoses Related to Other Substances: A Population-Based Register Study Skurtveit, S., Odsbu, I., Gjersing, L., Clausen, T., Hamina, A.
- European Addiction Research, 2022, 28(6), pp. 419–424
- Prescription opioids among older adults: ten years of data across five countries Hamina, A., Muller, A.E., Clausen, T., Jónsdóttir, H.L., Taipale, H. BMC Geriatrics, 2022, 22(1), 429
- What lessons from Norway’s experience could be applied in the United States in response to the addiction and overdose crisis? Clausen, T. Addiction, 2022, 117(5), pp. 1192–1194
- Describing long-term opioid use utilizing Nordic prescription registers—A Norwegian example Hamina, A., Hjellvik, V., Handal, M., Clausen, T., Skurtveit, S. Basic and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, 2022, 130(4), pp. 481–491
- Opioid related deaths in Norway in 2000–2019 Edvardsen, H.M.E., Clausen, T.
- Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2022, 232, 109281
- Vedvarende bruk av opioider og samtidig bruk av andre vanedannende legemidler Odsbu, I., Handal, M., Hjellvik, V., Clausen, T., Nesvåg, R., Tidsskrift for den Norske Laegeforening, 2022, 142(3), pp. 1–8
- Endringer i opioidbruken i Norge ma tas pa dypeste alvor Odsbu, I., Handal, M., Borchgrevink, P.C., Clausen, T., Skurtveit, S., Tidsskrift for den Norske Laegeforening, 2022, 142(3), pp. 1–3c
- Filled prescriptions for opioids among children and adolescents – A nationwide study from 2010 to 2018 Hamina, A., Handal, M., Fredheim, O., Chen, L.-C., Skurtveit, S.
- Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica, 2021, 65(10), pp. 1475–1483
- Use of other addictive drugs among opioid users with chronic pain | Bruk av andre vanedannende legemidler blant opioidbrukere med langvarige smerter Odsbu, I., Handal, M., Hjellvik, V., Nesvåg, R., Skurtveit, O.S. Norsk Epidemiologi, 2021, 29(1-2), pp. 45–53