# Prescription Opioid Use Trajectories and Risk Factors Associated with Opioid-Related Hospitalizations in Older Adults

> **NIH AHRQ R03** · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · 2020 · $48,474

## Abstract

AHRQ's recent notice regarding Interest in Health Services Research to Address the Opioid Crisis [NOT-HS-18-
015] recognized the alarming disproportionate increase of opioid-related hospitalizations among older adults.
Despite an abundance of efforts to combat the national opioid epidemic, hospitalizations due to opioid
dependence, abuse or poisoning among older adults have grown disproportionally. To accurately identify the
high-risk elderly groups and implement effective preventive measures, it is important to understand the etiology
of opioid-related hospitalizations, with a special emphasis on elderly-specific risk factors. This study will assess
elderly high-risk prescription opioid use patterns, predisposing and prognostic factors and their associations with
opioid-related hospitalizations. To understand the progress from prescription opioid initiation to the development of
opioid-related hospitalization outcome, the target population is Medicare beneficiaries who initiate prescription
opioids at an older age (aged 65+) included in a nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries from
2001-20017. Our Aim 1 is to examine trajectories of prescription opioid use and their association with opioid-related
hospitalizations after initiation among opioid-naïve Medicare older adults. Prescription opioid use will be assessed
by four measures: 1) morphine-equivalent daily dose, 2) concomitant opioid use, 3) chronic opioid use, and 4)
concurrent use with other psychotropic drugs (e.g., benzodiazepines). Our Aim 2 is to examine the extent to which
elderly-specific predisposing and prognostic factors are associated with risk for opioid-related hospitalization
outcome after opioid initiation among Medicare older adults. We will examine unique risk factors for the
development of the outcome, including a frailty index, number of chronic conditions and polypharmacy.
Innovative among published models in any population, we will also evaluate emerging prognostic factors—
incident infections, cognitive impairment, and injuries, reflecting potential opioid misuse and overdose that lead
to hospitalizations. Our study will provide first-hand nationally representative data on trajectories of prescription
opioid use, predisposing characteristics and prognostic risk factors associated with opioid-related
hospitalizations in elderly opioid initiators. Identified elderly-specific risk factors will provide the foundation for a
future R01 aimed at developing, implementing and evaluating a dynamic elderly-specific risk score in clinical
practice. The results from this line of research will assist clinicians to identify and manage elderly patients at risk
for opioid-related adverse events, improving opioid prescribing and safety in geriatric populations.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10004049
- **Project number:** 5R03HS027230-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** Yu-Jung “Jenny” Wei
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** AHRQ
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $48,474
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-01 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10004049

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10004049, Prescription Opioid Use Trajectories and Risk Factors Associated with Opioid-Related Hospitalizations in Older Adults (5R03HS027230-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10004049. Licensed CC0.

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