New users of anxiolytics and sedatives in Sweden—Drug type, doses, prescribers' characteristics, and psychiatric comorbidity in more than 750,000 patients
Abstract Objectives Anxiety and sleep disorders are common in the population and anxiolytics and sedatives are widely used. Our aim was to describe the drug utilization of new users of anxiolytics and sedatives in adults including type of drug, doses, prescribers' characteristics, and psychiatr...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2024-03-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/mpr.1998 |
| _version_ | 1797238988985073664 |
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| author | Elin Dahlén Carola Bardage Paulina Tuvendal Rickard Ljung |
| author_facet | Elin Dahlén Carola Bardage Paulina Tuvendal Rickard Ljung |
| author_sort | Elin Dahlén |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Objectives Anxiety and sleep disorders are common in the population and anxiolytics and sedatives are widely used. Our aim was to describe the drug utilization of new users of anxiolytics and sedatives in adults including type of drug, doses, prescribers' characteristics, and psychiatric comorbidity. Methods A register‐based cohort study of new users (18–64 years) of anxiolytics and sedatives in 2015–2019, free of any such drug 5 years prior to inclusion. The individuals were linked to national registers on dispensed drugs and recorded diagnoses. Results In total, 764,432 new users of anxiolytics and sedatives were identified, which corresponds to an incidence of 26/1000 inhabitants and year. The proportion of new users of benzodiazepines (including both anxiolytics and sedatives) decreased, whereas the proportion of sedative antihistamines and melatonin increased. The most common drug dispensed was hydroxizin (33%) followed by benzodiazepine related drugs (zopiclone and zolpidem; 20%), propiomazine (14%) and benzodiazepines (13%). The majority (68%) of the prescriptions were from primary care. Most new users were prescribed 1–30DDDs and 52% among women and 49% among men were dispensed their drug only once during the first year. Half of the new users had a previous comorbid psychiatric disorder. Conclusions The findings are well reflecting the recommendations in national guidelines. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T17:44:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d581a2b8637547eea6458d1681c1878b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1049-8931 1557-0657 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T17:44:24Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-d581a2b8637547eea6458d1681c1878b2024-03-27T15:10:42ZengWileyInternational Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research1049-89311557-06572024-03-01331n/an/a10.1002/mpr.1998New users of anxiolytics and sedatives in Sweden—Drug type, doses, prescribers' characteristics, and psychiatric comorbidity in more than 750,000 patientsElin Dahlén0Carola Bardage1Paulina Tuvendal2Rickard Ljung3The Swedish Medical Products Agency Uppsala SwedenThe Swedish Medical Products Agency Uppsala SwedenThe Swedish Medical Products Agency Uppsala SwedenThe Swedish Medical Products Agency Uppsala SwedenAbstract Objectives Anxiety and sleep disorders are common in the population and anxiolytics and sedatives are widely used. Our aim was to describe the drug utilization of new users of anxiolytics and sedatives in adults including type of drug, doses, prescribers' characteristics, and psychiatric comorbidity. Methods A register‐based cohort study of new users (18–64 years) of anxiolytics and sedatives in 2015–2019, free of any such drug 5 years prior to inclusion. The individuals were linked to national registers on dispensed drugs and recorded diagnoses. Results In total, 764,432 new users of anxiolytics and sedatives were identified, which corresponds to an incidence of 26/1000 inhabitants and year. The proportion of new users of benzodiazepines (including both anxiolytics and sedatives) decreased, whereas the proportion of sedative antihistamines and melatonin increased. The most common drug dispensed was hydroxizin (33%) followed by benzodiazepine related drugs (zopiclone and zolpidem; 20%), propiomazine (14%) and benzodiazepines (13%). The majority (68%) of the prescriptions were from primary care. Most new users were prescribed 1–30DDDs and 52% among women and 49% among men were dispensed their drug only once during the first year. Half of the new users had a previous comorbid psychiatric disorder. Conclusions The findings are well reflecting the recommendations in national guidelines.https://doi.org/10.1002/mpr.1998anxietybenzodiazepinesincidencenew userssedatives |
| spellingShingle | Elin Dahlén Carola Bardage Paulina Tuvendal Rickard Ljung New users of anxiolytics and sedatives in Sweden—Drug type, doses, prescribers' characteristics, and psychiatric comorbidity in more than 750,000 patients International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research anxiety benzodiazepines incidence new users sedatives |
| title | New users of anxiolytics and sedatives in Sweden—Drug type, doses, prescribers' characteristics, and psychiatric comorbidity in more than 750,000 patients |
| title_full | New users of anxiolytics and sedatives in Sweden—Drug type, doses, prescribers' characteristics, and psychiatric comorbidity in more than 750,000 patients |
| title_fullStr | New users of anxiolytics and sedatives in Sweden—Drug type, doses, prescribers' characteristics, and psychiatric comorbidity in more than 750,000 patients |
| title_full_unstemmed | New users of anxiolytics and sedatives in Sweden—Drug type, doses, prescribers' characteristics, and psychiatric comorbidity in more than 750,000 patients |
| title_short | New users of anxiolytics and sedatives in Sweden—Drug type, doses, prescribers' characteristics, and psychiatric comorbidity in more than 750,000 patients |
| title_sort | new users of anxiolytics and sedatives in sweden drug type doses prescribers characteristics and psychiatric comorbidity in more than 750 000 patients |
| topic | anxiety benzodiazepines incidence new users sedatives |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/mpr.1998 |
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