Long-term benzodiazepine and Z-drugs use in England: a survey of general practice [corrected].
Br J Gen Pract
; 67(662): e609-e613, 2017 09.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-28716996
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Current British National Formulary (BNF) guidelines state that benzodiazepines and zolpidem, zopiclone, and zaleplon, commonly known as Z-drugs (BZD), be prescribed for no more than 4 weeks, although anecdotal data suggest that many patients are prescribed BZDs for much longer. As there are no recent, evidence-based estimates of long-term (>12 months) BZD use in the UK, the scale of this potential problem is unknown.AIM:
To produce the first reliable, evidence-based estimate of long-term BZD use in the UK. DESIGN ANDSETTING:
Estimates of UK long-term BZD use were projected from data obtained from a survey conducted in 2014-2015 by the Bridge Project, a prescribed-drug withdrawal support charity in the North of England (Bradford).METHOD:
Percentages of long-term users of BZD were derived from the survey, by sampling primary care GP surgeries with around 100 000 registered patients, and these were applied to UK-wide NHS patient numbers. The data were filtered to exclude the very young and old, and those with other health issues.RESULTS:
The mean percentage of registered patients prescribed BZDs for more than a year in the survey sample is 0.69% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.54 to 0.84). Applying this value to national patient numbers yields a mean projection of 296 929 (95% CI = 232 553 to 361 305) long-term users of BZD in the UK. The data also suggest that as many as 119 165 of these patients may be willing to accept prescribed drug dependency withdrawal services.CONCLUSION:
More than a quarter of a million people in the UK are likely to be taking highly dependency-forming hypnotic medication far beyond the recommended time scales. As there is evidence that long-term use of BZDs causes adverse physiological and neurological effects, and protracted withdrawal (with associated complications), this represents a serious public health problem.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Benzodiazepinas
/
Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Substâncias
/
Prescrição Inadequada
/
Efeitos Adversos de Longa Duração
/
Hipnóticos e Sedativos
/
Distúrbios do Início e da Manutenção do Sono
Tipo de estudo:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Etiology_studies
/
Qualitative_research
Limite:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
País/Região como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Br J Gen Pract
Ano de publicação:
2017
Tipo de documento:
Article