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Use of hypnotic drugs among Scandinavian children, adolescents, and young adults

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

R. Wesselhøft ,
L. Rasmussen ,
P. Jensen ,
P. Jennum ,
S. Skurtveit ,
I. Hartz ,
J. Reutfors ,
P. Damkier ,
M. Bliddal  and
A. Pottegård
R. Wesselhøft*
Affiliation:
Mental Health Services in the Region of Southern Denmark, Child And Adolescent Psychiatry Odense, Odense C, Denmark
L. Rasmussen
Affiliation:
Clinical Pharmacology, Pharmacy and Environmental Medicine, Institute Of Public Health, Odense C, Denmark
P. Jensen
Affiliation:
Clinical Pharmacology, Pharmacy and Environmental Medicine, Institute Of Public Health, Odense C, Denmark
P. Jennum
Affiliation:
Danish Center for Sleep Medicine, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University, Copenhagen N, Denmark
S. Skurtveit
Affiliation:
Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Department Of Mental Disorders, Oslo, Norway
I. Hartz
Affiliation:
Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Department Of Mental Disorders, Oslo, Norway
J. Reutfors
Affiliation:
Karolinska Institutet, Medicine Solna, Stockholm, Sweden
P. Damkier
Affiliation:
Odense University Hospital, Dept. Of Clinical Biochemistry And Pharmacology, Odense C, Denmark
M. Bliddal
Affiliation:
Clinical Pharmacology, Pharmacy and Environmental Medicine, Institute Of Public Health, Odense C, Denmark
A. Pottegård
Affiliation:
Clinical Pharmacology, Pharmacy and Environmental Medicine, Institute Of Public Health, Odense C, Denmark
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Hypnotic drug use in children and adolescents is widely debated.

Objectives

To describe use of hypnotic drugs (melatonin, z-drugs and sedating antihistamines) among 5-24-year-old Scandinavians during 2012 to 2018.

Methods

Aggregate-level data from public data sources in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. We calculated annual prevalence (users/1000 inhabitants) stratified by sex, age group and country. Quantity of use (Defined Daily Dose (DDD)/user/day) was estimated for Norway and Denmark.

Results

Melatonin was most frequently used, with an increase from 2012 to 2018 in all countries. Sweden presented the highest rise (7 to 25/1,000) compared to Denmark (6 to 12/1,000) and Norway (10 to 20/1,000). The increase was strongest for females and 15-24-year-olds. Melatonin use was twice as common for males under age 15 years, and slightly more common for females thereafter. The annual prevalence of sedating antihistamine use doubled from 7 to 13/1,000 in Sweden, whereas it was more stable in Norway and Denmark, reaching 8/1,000 and 3/1,000, respectively. Z-drug use decreased in all countries, lowering to 4/1,000 in Sweden and Norway in 2018 and 2/1,000 in Denmark. The quantity of hypnotic use in Norway and Denmark was 1 DDD/user/day for melatonin, as compared to 0.1-0.3 for z-drugs and antihistamines.

Conclusions

There is an increasing use of melatonin and sedating antihistamines among Scandinavian children, adolescents and young adults. The increase is more pronounced in Sweden compared to Norway and Denmark. This Scandinavian discrepancy could reflect variation in frequency of sleep problems or national variation in clinical practice or health care access.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

pharmacoepidemiologyChild and adolescentmelatonindrug utilisation
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 65 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 30th European Congress of Psychiatry , June 2022 , pp. S82 - S83
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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