Opioid prescriptions remain high despite increased awareness of the opioid epidemic and awareness of the drugs’ risks, a new study finds. Researchers found opioid use and doses leveled off after peaking in 2012-13, but were still higher in 2017 than in 2007, HealthDay reports. Opioid use was especially high in elderly patients with chronic pain, the researchers report in BMJ. Much of the extended opioid use among older patients is for lower back pain, said lead researcher Molly Moore Jeffery. But for most patients, over-the-counter painkillers combined with physical therapy are more effective, she noted. The study compared opioid prescriptions among commercially insured …
