Open Access

E. Hradetzky, Christoph Ohlmeier, C. Brinkmann, Marie Schild, Wolfgang Galetzka, Niklas Schmedt, T. John, D. Kaleth, Holger Gothe

• Aim Musculoskeletal disorders are a major public health problem in most developed countries. As a main cause of chronic pain, they have resulted in an increasing prescription of opioids worldwide. With regard to the situation in Germany, this study aimed at estimating the prevalence of musculoskeletal diseases such as chronic low back pain (CLBP) and hip/knee osteoarthritis (OA) and at depicting the applied treatment patterns. Subject and methods German claims data from the InGef Research Database were analyzed over a 6-year period (2011–2016). The dataset contains over 4 million people, enrolled in German statutory health insurances. Inpatient and outpatient diagnoses were considered for case identification of hip/knee OA and CLBP. The World Health Organization (WHO) analgesic ladder was applied to categorize patients according to their pain management interventions. Information on demographics, comorbidities, and adjuvant medication was collected. Results In 2016, n = 2,693,481 individuals (50.5% female, 49.5% male) were assigned to the study population; 62.5% of them were aged 18–60 years. In 2016, n = 146,443 patients (5.4%) with CLBP and n = 307,256 patients (11.4%) with hip/knee OA were identified. Of those with pre-specified pain management interventions (CLBP: 66.3%; hip/knee OA: 65.1%), most patients received WHO I class drugs (CLBP: 73.6%; hip/knee OA: 68.7%) as the highest level. Conclusion This study provides indications that CLBP and hip/knee OA are common chronic pain conditions in Germany, which are often subjected to pharmacological pain management. Compared to non-opioid analgesic prescriptions of the WHO I class, the dispensation of WHO class II and III opioids was markedly lower, though present to a considerable extent.