Table 1. Baseline Characteristics of Patients in a Study of the Association of Dose Tapering With Overdose or Mental Health Crisis Among Patients Prescribed Long-term Opioidsa.
| Characteristic | No. (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Taper | No taper | |
| Total patients | 29 101 (25.6) | 84 517 (74.4) |
| Age category, y | ||
| 18-<35 | 873 (3.0) | 2292 (2.7) |
| 35-<50 | 5687 (19.5) | 16 268 (19.2) |
| 50-<65 | 14 704 (50.5) | 41 530 (49.1) |
| ≥65 | 7837 (26.9) | 24 427 (28.9) |
| Women | 15 805 (54.3) | 44 967 (53.2) |
| Men | 13 296 (45.7) | 39 550 (46.8) |
| Educationb | 27 281 | 79 970 |
| <12th grade | 130 (0.5) | 399 (0.5) |
| High school diploma | 12 540 (46.0) | 36 687 (45.9) |
| <Bachelor’s degree | 12 982 (47.6) | 37 881 (47.4) |
| ≥Bachelor’s degree | 1629 (6.0) | 5003 (6.3) |
| Rural vs urbanc | 29 030 | 84 411 |
| Metropolitian | 24 096 (83.0) | 70 601 (83.6) |
| Micropolitian | 2856 (9.8) | 7970 (9.4) |
| Small town | 1361 (4.7) | 3846 (4.6) |
| Rural | 717 (2.5) | 1994 (2.4) |
| Commercial insurance (vs Medicare Advantage) | 11 288 (38.8) | 35 372 (41.9) |
| Elixhauser comorbiditiesd | ||
| Alcohol use disorder | 798 (2.7) | 2009 (2.4) |
| Drug use disorder | 4856 (16.7) | 11 500 (13.6) |
| Psychosis | 2784 (9.6) | 7717 (9.1) |
| Baseline opioid dose, MME/d | ||
| 50-<90 | 8015 (27.5) | 33 684 (39.9) |
| 90-<150 | 7503 (25.8) | 22 121 (26.2) |
| 150-<300 | 8561 (29.4) | 19 345 (22.9) |
| ≥300 | 5022 (17.3) | 9367 (11.1) |
| Co-prescribed benzodiazepinee | 8613 (29.6) | 23 208 (27.5) |
| Baseline year overdose eventsf | ||
| 0 | 27 908 (95.9) | 81 945 (97.0) |
| 1 | 780 (2.7) | 1776 (2.1) |
| 2 | 168 (0.6) | 344 (0.4) |
| ≥3 | 245 (0.8) | 452 (0.5) |
| Baseline depression/anxietyg | 16 141 (55.5) | 44 464 (52.6) |
Abbreviation: MME, morphine milligram equivalents.
For patients contributing multiple baseline periods, information was captured at the end of their most recent baseline period.
Education is an estimate based on median household education level for the patient’s zip code derived from US census data; variable missing for 6367 (5.6%) patients, including 1820 (6.3%) who underwent tapering and 4547 (5.4%) who did not taper after their most recent baseline periods.
Rurality derived from rural-urban commuting area codes; variable missing for 177 patients (0.2% of total), including 71 (0.2%) and 106 (0.1%) patients who did and did not taper after their most recent baseline periods.
Elixhauser comorbidities included 27 noncancer conditions, including alcohol use disorder, drug use disorder, and psychoses. The depression Elixhauser indicator was not included due to redundancy with the “preexisting depression/anxiety” variable.
Co-prescribed benzodiazepine was defined as a concurrent benzodiazepine prescription on the date of cohort entry.
Baseline overdose events defined by specified diagnosis codes identified on emergency department or hospital claims in baseline year.
Baseline depression/anxiety defined by specified diagnoses identified on emergency department, hospital, or outpatient claims, or pharmacy claims for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, during baseline year. All differences were statistically significant with P value <.05.