TOPLINE:

Veterans with gout were 30% more likely to be prescribed chronic opioid therapy than those without gout, with factors such as female sex, underweight BMI, current smoking status, and a higher burden of comorbidities increasing this likelihood.

METHODOLOGY:

Researchers conducted a matched cohort study to determine whether patients with gout were more likely than matched control individuals without gout to have a risk for chronic prescription opioid exposure.

They also sought to identify the clinical factors associated with chronic opioid exposure.

Data related to 419,967 patients with gout and 3,609,382 matched control individuals from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) records (January 2000-July 2020) were included (overall mean age, 67.6 years; 99% men).

Chronic opioi

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