Dispensing of prescribed analgesics in Norway among young people with foreign- or Norwegian-born parents

PurposeTo examine and compare dispensing of prescribed analgesics between young people with parents from countries with a Muslim majority and those with parents born in Norway.MethodsOur study-population constituted 11,542 adolescents from the Norwegian Youth Health Surveys conducted in 2000–2003. Users and non-users of prescribed analgesics at baseline were analysed separately. Self-reported information on their parents’ birth country was used to classify them into one of the three predefined groups: Norway, countries with a Muslim majority or others. To study and compare dispensing of prescribed analgesics, data from the youth surveys were linked to the Norwegian Prescription Database (NorPD) 2004–2007. Dispensed analgesics studied were antiinflammatory and antirheumatic products (non-steroid), opioids and other analgesics and antipyretics.ResultsAmong non-users of prescribed analgesics at baseline, 34% of all males with parents born in Norway received prescribed analgesics at least once during 2004–2007, compared to 36% in the group with parents from countries with a Muslim majority. The proportions of females receiving prescribed analgesics were about 44% in both of the two previously mentioned groups. Among users of prescribed analgesics at baseline, the proportion of individuals who were dispensed prescribed analgesics in 2004–2007 was generally higher than for those that were non-users at baseline. Both males and females with parents from countries with a Muslim majority reported more pain compared to those with parents born in Norway. No statistical differences were detected between participants with parents from countries with a Muslim majority compared to those with parents born in Norway in terms of prescribed analgesics dispensed or total amount of analgesics dispensed in 2004–2007. For the dispensing of all analgesics in 2004–2007 the adjusted OR for having parents from countries with a Muslim majority compared to parents born in Norway was 1.02 (0.87–1.21) among non-users of prescribed analgesics at baseline and 0.82 (0.57–1.16) among users.ConclusionsThere were no differences in the dispensing of prescribed analgesics between young people with parents born in countries with a Muslim majority and those with parents born in Norway. Nor did the amount of prescribed analgesics differ between these groups.