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Patterns of benzodiazepine use in a Canadian population sample

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 April 2011

Eleonora Esposito ,
Corrado Barbui  and
Scott B. Patten
Eleonora Esposito*
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine and Public Health, Section of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, University of Verona, Verona (Italy)
Corrado Barbui
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine and Public Health, Section of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, University of Verona, Verona (Italy)
Scott B. Patten
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary (Canada)
*
Address for correspondence: Dr. E. Esposito, Department of Medicine and Public Health, Section of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, University of Verona, PiazzaleL.A. Scuro 10, 37134 Verona (Italy). Fax: +39-045-8027498, E-mail: eleonora.esposito@univr.it
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Summary

Aim – The objective of this study was to identify clinical and demographic factors that may be associated with benzodiazepine treatment, to describe the reported reasons for use of these medications and to appraise the pattern of use in relation to standard guidelines in a general population sample. Methods – Telephone survey methods were employed to select a sample of 3345 people between the ages of 18 and 64. A computer assisted telephone interview, including the Mini Neuropsychiatric Diagnostic Interview (MINI), was administered. Estimates were weighted for design features and population demographics. Results – The overall prevalence of benzodiazepines use was 3.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.6 to 4.1%). There was a higher frequency of medication use in women than men, among respondents who were widowed, separated or divorced, and those with lower levels of education. In relation to MINI diagnosis, diagnoses of Panic Disorder and Major Depression increased the probability of taking benzodiazepines. The reported main reason for use was “Sleep disorders” (68.9%), “Anxiety” (35.8%), “Depression” (27.8%) and “Pain management” (21.2%). More than 80% of subjects were taking benzodiazepines for more than one year. Conclusions – When compared to previous estimates, the lower frequency of benzodiazepines use suggests that there has been improvement in their evidence-based use at a population level. However our results once more confirm the difficulty stopping the use of these medications once they have been started. Further randomized control studies may help clinicians in having a better practical approach to rational benzodiazepine use.

Declaration of Interest: None.

Keywords

psychiatric disordersbenzodiazepinescross sectional studypopulation study
Type
Original Articles
Information
Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences , Volume 18 , Issue 3 , September 2009 , pp. 248 - 254
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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