Trends in glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist use, 2014 to 2022.

BACKGROUND: Recent Food and Drug Administration approvals of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists linked to substantial weight loss have generated interest in demand projections. However, a longitudinal analysis in a large, diverse, current, real-world database has not been published. OBJECTIVES: The study objective was to determine user frequency of GLP-1 receptor agonist products overall and by type 2 diabetes (T2D), cardiovascular disease (CVD), and overweight or obese status. Secondary objective was monthly growth rate estimation by product since first appearance in University of California Health. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included patients who were dispensed a GLP-1 receptor agonist from 2014 to 2022 in the University of California Health Data Warehouse. Exponential growth rates were estimated using a log-linear regression model. RESULTS: Between 2014 and 2018, only Trulicity and Victoza exceeded 5000 annual users. Ozempic users increased from 569 in 2019 to 7667 in 2020. Use accelerated with more than 13,310 users in 2021 to surpass Trulicity. Ozempic count was 22,891 in 2022. Wegovy rose from 989 in 2021 to 2992 in 2022. Mounjaro increased to 1508 users in 2022. Although generally similar trends were observed for T2D, CVD, and overweight or obese subgroups, the ascent of Ozempic as most frequently used was more apparent in the overweight or obese group. The monthly growth rates were 83.9% for Ozempic, 119.2% for Wegovy, 84.8% for Rybelsus, 53.3% for Saxenda, 12.9% for Adlyxin, 78.8% for Trulicity, and 254.3% for Mounjaro. CONCLUSION: This first cohort study of weight loss-associated GLP-1 receptor agonists in a large, diverse, state-wide health system demonstrated a rapid increased use that represents a clear and likely durable transition in utilization for this category. Informed decision making and longitudinal studies are needed to ensure evidence-concordant prescribing and supply stability.

Minding the gap and the value of metrics: Count of working pharmacists in the United States.

BACKGROUND: The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) uses a single Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code (29-1051) that reflects a traditional definition of pharmacist job functions. Pharmacists working in nontraditional roles would be categorized under other SOC codes and not included in the BLS pharmacist count. Knowing the magnitude of how many working pharmacists may not be included in the BLS pharmacist count would help determine whether the gap is a minor margin of error or a significant problem affecting pharmacist workforce projections. OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this paper was to estimate the gap between the number of possibly working pharmacists and the BLS pharmacist count in 2019. A secondary objective was to examine BLS pharmacist counts in nontraditional roles and compare with published industry data. METHODS: The annual number of individuals receiving their first professional pharmacy degree from 1965 to 2019 (55 graduation cohorts) was adjusted using the expected survival rate to 2019 by age and gender and workforce participation rate in 2019 for pharmacists for each cohort and then summed across cohorts. Data sources included Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, U.S. Vital Statistics reports, and American Consumer Survey. One-way and scenario-based sensitivity analyses were conducted to vary professional occupation mortality advantage and pharmacist workforce participation rate assumptions. RESULTS: Based on the number of individuals receiving their first professional pharmacy degree between 1965 and 2019 (442,409), there were 356,998 possibly working pharmacists in 2019. This value indicates 45,798 more pharmacists (15%) may have been working in 2019 than the 311,200 employee pharmacists reported by BLS for 2019. A gap of 8000 to 46,000 more working pharmacists (3%-15%) versus BLS persisted after sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSION: The magnitude of possibly working pharmacists not included in BLS counts warrants further consideration of current pharmacist job projections, methods, and metrics to improve future projections and monitoring of the pharmacist labor force.

Effectiveness of letermovir for cytomegalovirus prophylaxis in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients: A global systematic review.

OBJECTIVE(S): Letermovir (LET), a novel antiviral, has largely supplanted more traditional preemptive therapy (PET) for cytomegalovirus (CMV) prophylaxis in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (allo-HCT) patients. Use of LET demonstrated efficacy against placebo in phase III randomized controlled trials, but is considerably more expensive than PET. This review aimed to evaluate the real-world effectiveness of LET in preventing clinically significant CMV infection (csCMVi) for allo-HCT recipients and related outcomes. DESIGN: A systematic literature review was performed using an a priori protocol using PubMed, Scopus, and ClinicalTrials.gov from January 2010 to October 2021. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Studies were included if they met the following criteria: LET compared with PET, CMV-related outcomes, patients aged 18 years or older, and English language-only articles. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize study characteristics and outcomes. OUTCOME MEASURES: CMV viremia, csCMVi, CMV end-organ disease, graft-versus-host-disease, all-cause mortality. RESULTS: A total of 233 abstracts were screened, with 30 included in this review. Randomized trials demonstrated efficacy of LET prophylaxis in preventing csCMVi. Observational studies demonstrated varying degrees of effectiveness of LET prophylaxis compared with use of PET alone. All studies with a comparator group resulted in lower rates of csCMVi for patients using LET. Included studies varied widely by CMV viral load threshold cutoff and CMV test units, limiting synthesis of results owing to high heterogeneity. CONCLUSION: LET reduces risk of csCMVi, but lack of standardized clinical definitions on how to evaluate csCMVi and related outcomes largely prevent synthesis of results. Clinicians must consider this limitation in the context of evaluating the effectiveness of LET to other antiviral therapies, especially for patients at risk of late-onset CMV. Future studies should focus on prospective data collection through registries and concordance of diagnostic definitions to mitigate study heterogeneity.

Risk of Negative Health Outcomes and High Costs for People With Diabetes and Unmet Psychological Needs in the United States.

Measuring the population-level relationship between compromised mental health and diabetes care remains an important goal for clinicians and health care decision-makers. We evaluated the impact of self-reported unmet psychological need on health care resource utilization and total health care expenditure in people with type 2 diabetes. Patients who reported unmet psychological needs were more likely than those who did not to incur a higher annual medical expenditure, have greater resource utilization, and have a higher risk of all-cause mortality.

Examination of Medication Use Patterns by Age Group, Comorbidity, and Month in COVID-19 Positive Patients in a Large Statewide Health System During the Pandemic in 2020.

Background: Understanding medication use patterns for patients with COVID-19 will provide needed insight into the evolution of COVID-19 treatment over the course of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and aid clinical management considerations. Objectives: To systematically determine most frequently used medications among COVID-19 patients overall and by hospitalization status. Secondary objective was use measurement of medications considered potential therapeutic options. Methods: Retrospective cohort study was performed using data from the University of California COVID Research Data Set (UC CORDS) patients between March 10, 2020, and December 31, 2020. Main outcomes were percentages of patients prescribed medications, overall, by age group, and by comorbidity based on hospitalization status for COVID-19 patients. Use percentage by month of COVID-19 diagnosis was measured. Cumulative count of potential therapeutic options was measured over time. Results: Dataset included 22 896 unique patients with COVID-19 (mean [SD] age, 42.4 [20.4] years; 12 154 [53%] women). Most frequently used medications in patients overall were acetaminophen (21.2%), albuterol (14.9%), ondansetron (13.9%), and enoxaparin (10.8%). Dexamethasone use increased from fewer than 50 total hospitalized patients through April who had received the medication, to more than 500 patients by mid-August. Cumulative count of enoxaparin users was the largest throughout the study period. Conclusion and Relevance: In this retrospective cohort study, across age and comorbidity groups, predominant utilization was for supportive care therapy. Dexamethasone and remdesivir experienced large increases in use. Conversely, hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin use markedly dropped. Medication utilization rapidly shifted toward more evidence-concordant treatment of patients with COVID-19 as rigorous study findings emerged.

Pharmacists on the front-line of solving a public health crisis: Increasing access to medications for opioid use disorder.

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the advantages of pharmacist involvement to increase the accessibility of medication treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). SUMMARY: OUD continues to be a mounting public health crisis in the United States. Medications for OUD treatment have been reported to be safe and effective. Yet, underutilization and poor accessibility remain critical challenges. As the most accessible health care provider, pharmacists have the capability to help overcome these barriers and positively affect patient care. Preliminary strategies have been documented in the United States and abroad that can serve as a blueprint for expanded pharmacist involvement. CONCLUSION: Pharmacists must expand efforts to increase patient accessibility to medications for OUD and become a key part of the solution to this epidemic.

Hospitalization and Combined Use of Opioids, Benzodiazepines, and Muscle Relaxants in the United States.

Introduction: Concurrent opioid and benzodiazepine use ("double-threat") and double-threat and muscle relaxant use ("triple-threat") are postulated to increase morbidity versus opioids alone. Study objectives were to measure association between double- and triple-threat exposure and hospitalizations in a validated, nationally representative database of the United States. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the 2013 and 2014 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) longitudinal dataset and affiliated Prescribed Medicines Files. Association between 2013 and 2014 double- and triple-threat exposures and outcome of hospitalizations compared to nonusers, opioid users, and all combinations were assessed via logistic regression. The cohort surveyed in MEPS has been weighted to be reflective of the actual US population in the years 2013 and 2014. Logistic regression applying the subject-level MEPS survey weights was performed to measure association via odds ratios (ORs) of medication exposures with the outcome of all-cause hospitalization. Study subjects were categorized into exposure groups as nonusers (nonuse of opioids, benzodiazepines, or muscle relaxants), opioid users, benzodiazepine users, muscle relaxant users, "double-threat" users, and "triple-threat" users. Analyses were conducted using RStudio® 1.1.5 (Boston, MA) with α level = 0.05 for all comparisons. Results: Opioids, benzodiazepines, and muscle relaxants were used in 11.9% (38.4 million), 4.2% (13.5 million), and 3.4% (10.9 million) lives of the United States in 2013, respectively. Double-threat prevalence rose from 1.6% to 1.9% from 2013 to 2014. Triple-threat prevalence remained unchanged at 0.53%. Compared to nonusers, triple-threat patients increased hospitalization probability with ORs of 8.52 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 8.50-8.55) in 2013, 5.06 (95% CI: 5.04-5.08) in 2014, and 4.61 (95% CI: 4.59-4.63) in the 2013-2014 longitudinal analysis. Compared to nonusers, double-threat patients increased hospitalization probability with ORs of 5.71 (95% CI: 5.69-5.72) in 2013, 11.47 (95% CI: 11.44-11.49) in 2014, and 5.59 (95% CI: 5.57-5.60) in the longitudinal analysis. Conclusion: Concurrent opioid and benzodiazepine use and opioid, benzodiazepine, and muscle relaxant use were associated with increased hospitalization likelihood. Amplified efforts in surveillance, prescribing, monitoring, and deprescribing for concurrent opioid, benzodiazepine, and muscle relaxant use are needed to reduce this public health concern.

Emergency Department Visits for Psychotropic-Related Adverse Drug Events in Older Adults With Alzheimer Disease, 2013-2014.

Background: More than 1.3 million emergency department visits have been associated with adverse drug events (ADEs) in older adults. Increasing Alzheimer's disease (AD) prevalence in the geriatric population poses an additive risk of ADEs because of the array of psychotropic medications prescribed for AD patients. Scant research has been conducted at a nationwide level on psychotropic-related ADEs in this population. Objective: This study aimed to determine the incidence and economic burden of psychotropic ADEs in the geriatric AD population compared with the non-AD geriatric population. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of geriatric AD patients who visited the ED in 2013 with a psychotropic-related ADE to determine the incidence and resource utilization of these events. The relationship between presence of AD and an ADE was analyzed using multiple logistic regression. Results: There were 427 969 Alzheimer's ED visits compared with 20 492 554 ED visits without. Of the AD cases, 1.04% were associated with at least 1 adverse event. AD cases more frequently were admitted as inpatients (64.90% vs 34.92%, P < 0.01). Common drug classes associated with AD-related ADEs were benzodiazepines, antipsychotics, and autonomic nervous system-affecting agents (adrenergic agonists, antimuscarinic agents, anticholinergic agents). There was a significantly higher likelihood for Alzheimer's cases to experience any psychotropic-related adverse event (OR = 1.66; 95% CI = 1.20, 1.82). Conclusion and Relevance: Alzheimer's patients more frequently experienced psychotropic-related adverse events and related adverse outcomes than older adults without Alzheimer's. Application of these findings should be implemented in protocol development to reduce future psychotropic-related adverse outcomes for this population.

Cost of Prescription Drug-Related Morbidity and Mortality.

BACKGROUND: Public attention and recent US Congressional activity has intensified focus on escalating medication prices. However, the actual cost of medication use extends beyond the up-front cost of purchasing medicines. It also encompasses the additional medical costs of morbidity and mortality resulting from nonoptimized medication regimens, including medication nonadherence. OBJECTIVES: Applying the most current nationally representative data sources, our goal was to estimate the cost of prescription drug-related morbidity and mortality in the United States. METHODS: Total costs of nonoptimized prescription drug use and average pathway costs for a patient who experienced a treatment failure (TF), a new medical problem (NMP), or a TF and NMP were modeled in Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA) and TreeAge Pro Healthcare, v2014 (TreeAge Software, Inc, Williamstown, MA), respectively. RESULTS: The estimated annual cost of prescription drug-related morbidity and mortality resulting from nonoptimized medication therapy was $528.4 billion in 2016 US dollars, with a plausible range of $495.3 billion to $672.7 billion. The average cost of an individual experiencing TF, NMP, or TF and NMP after initial prescription use were $2481 (range: $2233, $2742), $2610 (range: $2374, $2848) and $2572 (range: $2408, $2751), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The estimated annual cost of drug-related morbidity and mortality resulting from nonoptimized medication therapy was $528.4 billion, equivalent to 16% of total US health care expenditures in 2016. We propose expansion of comprehensive medication management programs by clinical pharmacists in collaborative practices with physicians and other prescribers as an effective and scalable approach to mitigate these avoidable costs and improve patient outcomes.

Anticoagulant Use in High Stroke-Risk Patients With Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation.

Background Oral anticoagulants (OACs) are recommended for nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients with moderate-to high-stroke risk. Objective To examine nationally reflective OAC usage in incident NVAF patients longitudinally. Design Three-year retrospective cohort analysis. Setting Medicare Part D recipients in the contiguous United States. PARTICIPANTS: 52,465 Medicare beneficiaries with incident NVAF in 2010 with two or more atrial fibrillation diagnoses seven or more days apart. Main outcome measure Stroke risk via congestive heart failure, hypertension, age greater than or equal to 75, diabetes, stroke, vascular disease, age 65-74, sex category (CHA2DS2-VASc) score. Primary outcome was proportion of patients receiving one or more OACs post-NVAF diagnoses. Results Of 48,980 high-risk patients, 32.7% received one or more OAC within 60 days of diagnosis. By close of 2011, 48% had one or more OAC. OAC use increased to 52.9% by close of 2012. Conclusions Fewer than 33% of high-risk NVAF patients received OACs within 60 days of diagnosis in 2010. Despite increased use over time, oral anticoagulation was below 53% at study end. Use of OACs declined with CHA2DS2-VASc greater than 6. Expanded efforts are warranted to augment OAC use in high stroke-risk patients.

Medication Regimen Complexity in Long-Term Care Facilities and Adverse Drug Events-Related Hospitalizations.

Adverse drug events (ADE) are a leading cause of mortality in the United States. Recent studies have demonstrated a high level of complex medication regimens in institutionalized residents. Evidence of the relationship between medication regimen complexity (MRC) and ADE-related rehospitalizations or emergency department (ED) visits is evolving. Therefore, there is a demand for better characterization and study of MRC as an objective identifier to quickly screen and prioritize high-risk patients for follow-up medication management therapy. This manuscript will serve as a brief summary review of the current findings regarding the relationship between MRC and hospital readmission and ED usage and provide strategies for pharmacists to more efficiently evaluate complex medication regimens and optimize therapies.

Medication Use, Falls, and Fall-Related Worry in Older Adults in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the prevalence of falls and fall-related concerns of medication users versus nonusers in U.S. seniors. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: The National Health and Aging Trends Study. PARTICIPANTS: U.S. nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries in 2011. OUTCOMES: Comparing subjects who used medications with subjects who did not in the past month, the outcomes were percentages of subjects who experienced 1) a fall in the past month, 2) worry about falling in the past month, 3) being limited by this worry in the past month, 4) a fall in the past year. RESULTS: A greater percentage of medication users experienced falls and fall-related outcomes, compared with non-medication users. Among medication users, 10.29% had a past month fall, compared with 5.42% of non-medication users; 27.69% of medication users worried in the past month about falling, compared with 9.15% of non-medication users; 40.96% of medication users were limited by this worry, compared with 21.21%; 22.82% of medication users had a fall in the past year, compared with 13.15% of non-medication users. CONCLUSION: Seniors who use medications are more likely to fall and to be concerned about falling. Pharmacist involvement in fall prevention continues to be essential.

Association of Pre-Pandemic Telehealth With Emergency Department and Telehealth Usage During the Pandemic.

Objectives Aims were to quantify the association of pre-COVID-19 pandemic telehealth use and separately: 1) likelihood of an emergency department (ED) visit, 2) likelihood of a telehealth visit in older people during the pandemic. Design A retrospective cohort study to measure odds ratios (ORs) of telehealth usage before the pandemic and likelihood of an ED visit and telehealth visit during the study period. Setting and Patients Adults 65 years of age and older (N = 39,214) in the University of California COVID Research Data Set (UC CORDS). Main Outcomes Primary outcome was occurrence of one or more ED visits. Secondary outcome was occurrence of one or more telehealth visits. Results A telehealth visit before the pandemic was associated with reduced likelihood of an ED visit with an OR of 0.33 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.200.55). Pre-pandemic telehealth was associated with an increased likelihood of telehealth use during the pandemic with an OR of 4.66 (95% CI 3.52-6.18). Conclusion Older people who utilized telehealth before the pandemic were less likely to receive emergency care and were more likely to use telehealth during the pandemic. Approaches to enhance and measure telehealth access for older people are necessary.

Examining the Impact of the World Health Organization 2022 Guidelines on Evaluation of Biosimilars for Non-Local Comparators in Biosimilar Studies on Middle East and North Africa Member States.

Global support and standardization of regulation for biosimilars approval owes much of its legacy to the World Health Organization (WHO), since the first guidance by the organization on the matter was released in 2009. Since then, and with over a decade of research, the 2022 revision provides opportunities for time and financial savings to pharmaceutical manufacturers aiming to prove similarity of a potential biosimilar product to some reference product, particularly by clarifying that the use of a non-local reference product as a comparator in certain studies is permissible. This declaration has important implications, particularly in the emerging biological markets of the Middle East and North Africa region, where WHO guidelines have been integral to the regulatory framework of over a dozen countries for more than a decade. This article aims to review the impact of this revision on these countries and relevant policies on non-local comparator usage. Since 2022, this revision has been adopted only in Egypt. Many North African countries are yet to adopt a first draft of the formalized guidance. This analysis revealed that, although many of these countries reference the WHO guidelines, hesitation remains in terms of sourcing comparator products outside the US or European countries. This likely translates to slow regional development and cooperation of functioning, sustainable biosimilars markets. Future studies will be necessary to evaluate the continued development of guidance within these countries and changes in comparator sourcing norms as more time is allowed for their policies to mature and adapt to new standards.

Association of copayment and statin adherence stratified by socioeconomic status.

BACKGROUND: There is a growing body of evidence supporting means testing out of copayment for high-value therapies such as statins. OBJECTIVE: To investigate association between statin adherence and copayment when stratified by socioeconomic status. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study set in a network of VA facilities that includes Southern California and Nevada, with an enrollment of 1.4 million veterans. Socioeconomic status was estimated using zip code median household income. Differences in medication possession ratio (MPR) associated with copayment was the primary outcome measure. Odds of attaining low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) <100 mg/dL was the secondary outcome measure. Separate regression models for each income quintile were performed for each outcome measure, respectively. RESULTS: A total of 4748 patients were included in the analysis. Patients in quintiles two (-0.057, 95% confidence interval [CI] = -0.095 to -0.020) and three (-0.044, CI = -0.081 to -0.007) had statistically significant decreases in MPR associated with having a copayment versus not having a copayment. Quintiles two (odds ratio [OR] = 0.68; 95% CI = 0.47 to 0.98) and three (OR = 0.66; 95% CI = 0.45 to 0.96) also had lower odds of attaining LDL <100 mg/dL when having a copayment. Patients in higher earning quintiles (four and five) did not show any associations with copayment. CONCLUSION: In the veteran population studied, the association of statin copayment status with adherence varied by socioeconomic status. Middle-income and lower-middle-income patients were more likely to have adherence negatively influenced by having a copayment for statin therapy.

Association of polypharmacy and statin new-user adherence in a Veterans Health Administration population: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between multiple medication consumption and medication adherence is not well understood. OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between the number of active medications on the patient medication profile at baseline and adherence in new users of statins. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of new users of statin medications from the Veterans Health Administration. We explored the correlation between the number of baseline medications and adherence, grouping patients by number of active medications on the study index date via Cochran-Armitage trend test and multiple linear regression. The adherence metric calculated for each patient was the medication possession ratio (MPR). Adherence was defined as achieving a 0.8 MPR or greater in primary analysis and a 0.9 MPR or greater in the secondary analysis. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant trend of increasing proportion of adherent participants as baseline medication count grew (P value < .001). The regression further demonstrated that statin MPR was increased by 0.04, 0.07, 0.10, and 0.14 for the 6 to 10 medication count, 11 to 15 medication count, 16 to 20 medication count, and >20 medication count groups, respectively, in comparison with the reference 1 to 5 medication count group (P < .001 for all comparisons). An MPR threshold of 0.9 provided consistent evidence of improved adherence as number of medications increased (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Increased medication count at baseline was associated with improved adherence for new users of statins.

Comparative efficacy of oral pharmaceuticals for the treatment of chronic peripheral neuropathic pain: meta-analysis and indirect treatment comparisons.

OBJECTIVE: Neuropathic pain is generally chronic and challenging to treat. Studies often ignore chronicity by reporting short-duration outcomes and fail to account for medication tolerability. We assessed efficacy of oral medications on chronic peripheral neuropathic pain. METHODS: Relevant published, English-language, randomized controlled trials administering oral medications for peripheral neuropathic pain were identified through MEDLINE (1966 to Dec 1, 2012), EMBASE (1980 to December 2012), the Cochrane Library Databases (through December 2012), and the Oxford Pain Relief Database (through 2012). Included studies reported end point pain or pain reduction from baseline on an 11-point scale (0-10); had active treatment ≥ 12 weeks; reported an intention-to-treat analysis, and had 5-point quality score ≥ 3. Abstracted information included patient characteristics, neuropathic pain condition, drug and dosage arms, adverse events rates causing dropout, and secondary measures (50% pain improvement, global improvement, and sleep interference). Primary outcome meta-analysis, stratified by drug and dosage, was followed by an indirect treatment comparison adjusting for study dropouts due to adverse events. RESULTS: Seventeen studies comprised of 5,975 subjects, totaling 38 active trial arms evaluating 7 drugs, and 17 drug-dosing combinations met inclusion criteria. Mean pain reduction over placebo ranked highest for duloxetine 120 mg (1.17 95% CI 0.77, 1.58) and pregabalin 600 mg (1.11 95% CI 0.77, 1.45). The Indirect treatment comparison showed largest effect size for duloxetine at 120 and 60 mg followed by pregabalin 600 mg. CONCLUSIONS: Pregabalin and duloxetine had the largest beneficial effects for chronic peripheral neuropathic pain. In the absence of head-to-head trials, meta-analysis and indirect treatment comparisons inform best practice clinical decision-making.

Considerations on the Weight Loss-Associated Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists for Older People.

Obesity rates for older people have increased around the world1 with rates tripling over the past four decades.² While previously considered a phenomenon of developed countries, the increased prevalence of obesity is now established in developing countries as well.³ Factors stimulating this epidemic include modifications in the global food supply chain, rise in consumption and availability of energy-dense, low-nutrient foods, sedentary occupations, expanding urbanization, changes in transportation means, as well as environmental components.³ The increasing prevalence of obesity in older people in the United States over time has been well documented by federal agencies. Over the time periods 1999-2002, 2003-2006, and 2007-2010, a linear increase in the prevalence of obesity among older men in all age groups was observed. The obesity prevalence among men 65 to 74 years of age increased from about 31.6% in 1999-2002 to 41.5% in 2007-2010. In men older than 74 years of age, obesity prevalence increased from 17.7% in 1999-2002 to 26.5% in 2007-2010. Of interest is that, in women, the change over the same time period was not statistically significant for the older age groups (40.3% obesity in 65- to 74-year-old women and 28.7% in women older than 74 years of age in the 2007-2010 analysis period).4.

The Critical Role of Pharmacists in Treating Older People in the Opioid Crisis.

Pharmacy-based Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) treatment has been identified as a central pillar in curbing the spiraling opioid epidemic that claimed more than 100,000 lives in the United States in a one year period for the first time. This epidemic is also partially responsible for the plummeting US life expectancy that began prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and has now claimed more than 500,000 lives since 1999 with more than 70% of the 70,630 overdose deaths in 2019 involved with an opioid. Older people are at increased risk of both OUD and OUD-related complications. Recent studies have demonstrated that people older than 65 years of age were more likely to die of OUD-related complications, and - because of an increased likelihood of polypharmacy - are more likely to experience a drug interaction that magnifies the risk of an opioid-related misadventure.