Cancer Screening Among Women Prescribed Opioids: A National Study

The Article in Brief

Cancer Screening Among Women Prescribed Opioids: A National Study

Alicia Agnoli , and colleagues

Background Concerns have been raised that in the primary care setting, treating chronic pain and managing opioid prescriptions may be associated with negative preventive care outcomes. Managing patient pain and prescription opioids takes considerable time, and these competing demands may strain and impair the delivery of evidence-based preventive health needs, such as recommended cancer screenings.

What This Study Found Researchers at the University of California, Davis analyzed data from a nationally representative sample of 53,982 women in the United States. Findings revealed that women who are prescribed opioids were more likely to receive breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screenings for the simple fact that they are frequent users of the health care system. They had a median number of doctor visits that was five times higher than their non-prescribed counterparts. When this factor was controlled for, analysis showed no association between prescription opioid use and cancer screening. Authors conclude that U.S. women who take prescription opioids are no less likely to receive key cancer screenings when compared to women who are not prescribed opioids.

Implications

• This study is one of the first to examine access to key preventive health services for opioid versus non-opioid users. Authors suggest that "the key driver of whether women receive recommended cancer screening is simply how often they see the doctor."