Rate of Gabapentin Prescribing Increasing Since 2010

TUESDAY, Oct. 7, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The rate of gabapentin prescribing slowed after 2016, but is still increasing, according to a research letter published online Sept. 30 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Andrea E. Strahan, Ph.D., from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and colleagues examined gabapentin dispensing from retail pharmacies in the United States from 2010 to 2024 in a cross-sectional study.

The researchers found that from 2010 to 2024, there was an increase in gabapentin prescriptions from 24,186,175 to 58,868,142 (79.5 to 177.6 per 1,000 persons); there was also an increase in persons dispensed gabapentin from 5,764,112 to 15,541,680 (18.9 to 46.9 per 1,000 persons). From 2010 to 2016, the rate of gabapentin dispensing approximately doubled for both the number of prescriptions (from 79.5 to 170.6) and people (18.9 to 37.8), but the rate slowed from 2016 to 2024 (from 170.6 to 177.6 for prescriptions and from 37.8 to 46.9 for people). Gabapentin dispensing occurred at higher rates among female patients and adults 65 years and older (57.1 and 114.7 per 1,000 in 2024, respectively). Most gabapentin was prescribed by primary care clinicians (22.6 per 1,000 persons in 2024), but increases were seen among advanced practitioners (from 2.5 per 1,000 people in 2010 to 19.5 per 1,000 people in 2024). Generic gabapentin was the fifth most dispensed product among all medications dispensed from retail pharmacies in 2024.

“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,” the authors write.

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