Two new studies from the Boston University School of Public Health shed light on the relationship between obesity and the use of prescription opioids.
One study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found patients with higher body mass indices(BMIs) were up to 158% more likely to use opioids long-term, and that 27% of long-term opioid prescriptions from the years 2000-15 were due to higher BMIs.
The other, published in JAMA Open Network, examines the pain conditions underlying this increased likelihood of opioid prescriptions for people higher BMIs. It found that osteoarthritis and other joint disorders were the two reasons for an opioid prescription most strongly associated with obesity.
