Fourteen-Year Trends in the Use of Psychotropic Medications, Opioids, and Other Sedatives Among Institutionalized Older People in Helsinki, Finland

Objectives: The use of psychotropic drugs in long-term care (LTC) is very common, despite their known adverse effects. The prevalence of opioid use is growing among older adults. This study aimed to investigate trends in the prevalence of psychotropics, opioids, and sedative load in a LTC setting over a 14-year period. We also explored the interaction of psychotropic and opioid use according to residents' dementia status in nursing home (NH) and assisted living facility (ALF) settings.

Design: Four cross-sectional studies.

Setting: Institutional settings in Helsinki, Finland.

Participants: Older residents in NHs in 2003 (n = 1987), 2011 (n = 1576), and 2017 (n = 791) and in ALFs in 2007 (n = 1377), 2011 (n = 1586), and 2017 (n = 1624).

Measures: Comparable assessments were conducted among LTC residents at 4 time points over 14 years. The prevalence of regular psychotropics, opioids, and other sedatives and data on demographics and diagnoses were collected from medical records.

Results: Disabilities and severity of dementia increased in both settings over time. The prevalence of all psychotropics decreased significantly in NHs (from 81% in 2003 to 61% in 2017), whereas in ALFs there was no similar linear trend (65% in 2007 and 64% in 2017). There was a significant increase in the prevalence of opioids in both settings (30% in NHs and 22% in AFLs in 2017). Residents with dementia used less psychotropics and opioids than those without dementia in both settings and at each time point.

Conclusions/implications: NHs show a favorable trend in psychotropic drug use, but the rates of psychotropic use remain high in both NHs and ALFs. In addition, the rates of opioid use have almost tripled, leading to a high sedative load among LTC residents. Clinicians should carefully consider the risk-to-benefit ratio when prescribing in LTC.