Association of patient race and ethnicity with differences in opioid prescribing by primary care physicians for older adults with new low back pain.

LyDP. associations between patient race and ethnicity and differences in opioid prescribing by primary care physicians for older adults with new low back pain. JAMA Health Forum. 2021; 2(9): e212333. doi: 10.1001 / jamahealthforum.2021.2333

Commentary

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between differences in opioid prescribing by primary care physicians (PCPs) and patient race and ethnicity for new low back pain in older adults from 2007 to 2014.

Results showed that of a study population of 274,771 patients with low back pain, 6% were Asian and Pacific Islander, 6% were black, 8% were Hispanic, and 81% were white and treated by 63,494 physicians.

In an adjusted analysis of these, 11.5 percent of white patients received an opioid prescription. However, the same prescribers were shown to be 1.5 percentage points less likely to prescribe opioids if the patient was black.

And they were less likely if the patient was Asian or Pacific Islander, and 1.0 pp less likely if the patient was Hispanic.

And they also found that the same doctors were more likely to prescribe NSAIDs to patients from racial and ethnic minority groups. However, the study also showed that white patients who were prescribed opioid medications were more likely to use opioids in the subsequent long term.

The study presented this as a result, but it is unclear as to the reasoning behind such a response between races.