Older, rural, male doctors in the Southeast and West prescribe the most opioids to seniors, study finds

"Older male doctors in the South and in rural Western states are prescribing the most sedatives and opioids to seniors, according to a new University of Michigan study, Robin Jefferson reports for Forbes. "And those receiving the drugs are more often than not less educated, from areas with lower incomes and at higher risk for suicide. States with the highest intensity of prescribing were Alabama, Tennessee, West Virginia, Florida and Louisiana." Minnesota, Alaska, New York, Hawaii and South Dakota had the lowest rates.

The potentially inappropriate prescribing of such drugs may contribute to opioid overdose, the study's authors found. Commonly prescribed sedatives, called benzodiazepines, include Xanax, Valium and Ativan, and are generally meant for anxiety. But benzodiazepines and opioid painkillers are two of the most-abused prescription drugs in the world, and many patients being prescribed them have no formal diagnosis of anxiety or insomnia. Jefferson reports.

The study was based on data about all prescriptions for non-cancerous patients written by primary care providers from 2011 to 2015 for the Medicare Part D prescription drug program, combined with county-level health data and socioeconomic data.

"The study found that primary care doctors, rather than psychiatrists, wrote 62 percent of all benzodiazepine prescriptions, a fact that offers more evidence that older adults are much less likely than younger adults to see a psychiatrist," Jefferson reports. "The researchers say this ‘polypharmacy’ of drugs that act on the central nervous system and are most commonly used for anxiety, sleep and behavior issues, is concerning because of the unique risks it poses to older adults. Combining such medications can put seniors at higher risk for falls as well as create problems with driving, memory and thinking."