Increase in gabapentin dispensing highlights need for awareness of adverse effects
Gabapentin was the fifth most prescribed medication in the U.S. in 2024, having increased from 79.5 prescriptions per 1,000 persons in 2010 to 177.6 per 1,000 persons in 2024.
There has been a slow but increasing rate of gabapentin prescribing in the United States from 2010 to 2024, according to a study of pharmacy data.
Researchers from the CDC analyzed 2010 to 2024 data from an all-payer pharmaceutical database to examine gabapentin prescribing trends from 2010 to 2024. The findings were published as a research letter in Annals of Internal Medicine on Sept. 30.
Gabapentin prescriptions increased from 24,186,175 (79.5 per 1,000 persons) in 2010 to 58,868,142 (177.6 per 1,000 persons) in 2024, and the number of patients receiving gabapentin increased from 5,764,112 (18.9 per 1,000 persons) in 2010 to 15,541,680 (46.9 per 1,000 persons) in 2024, according to the research letter. The rate of gabapentin dispensing for both number of prescriptions and patients doubled from 2010 to 2016 but increased at a slower rate from 2016 to 2024, the study authors noted.
Female patients (57.1 per 1,000 persons) and adults ages 65 years and older (114.7 per 1,000 persons) received gabapentin at higher rates than men and younger patients in 2024. Prescribing to adults ages 65 years and older increased more than other age groups from 2016 to 2024, from 85.8 to 114.7 per 1,000 patients. Most gabapentin was prescribed by primary care clinicians. Substantial increases in prescribing by advanced practitioners were observed, from 2.5 per 1,000 persons in 2010 to 19.5 per 1,000 persons in 2024. The researchers noted that among all medications dispensed from retail pharmacies, generic gabapentin was the fifth most dispensed product in the United States in 2024.
Substantial increases in prescribing among advanced practitioners could reflect expanded prescribing authorities in certain states, and this warrants further study, the authors wrote. “As gabapentin dispensing continues to increase, particularly among older populations, prescribing physicians and advanced practitioners should be alert to the potential adverse effects of gabapentin,” they wrote.