The Impact of Long Term Opioid Medication on Oral Antihyperglycmic Medication Adherence and Subsequent Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Related Hospitalization Risk among Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Retrospective Database Analysis

Prescription opioids are a highly prescribed class of medication, which when administered over long durations can lead to negative effects (e.g., addiction, non-medical use). Prescription opioids are often prescribed concomitantly with antihyperglycemic medication among patients with T2DM. Due to known associated negative effects of prescription opioids, it is imperative to study the impact of long term opioid use of antihyperglycemic medication when prescribed concomitantly. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to examine if there is any effect of long-term opioid use on antihyperglycemic medication adherence when the two medication classes are prescribed concomitantly among patients with T2DM. Additionally, this study also examined whether the duration of opioid use and antihyperglycemic adherence has any potential impact on subsequent diabetes related hospitalizations.