Gender differences in the use of anxiolytics and antidepressants: a population based study

Heyden, Johan Van der; Gisle, Lydia; Hesse, Elizabeth A.; Demarest, Stefaan; Drieskens, Sabine; Tafforeau, Jean

doi:10.1002/pds.1827

Cited by 38 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…In particular, higher use of anxiolytic drugs by Greek women could reflect both the higher probability to use health care services, as well as the greater tendency of physicians to prescribe these psychotropic drugs to women as compared to men, even for the same diagnosis . However, the present data do not allow us to assess the nature of putative sex‐dependent physician–patient interactions or sex‐determined treatment options .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

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Is Drug Utilization in Greece Sex dependent? A Population‐based Study

Athanasopoulos

Pitychoutis

Messari

et al. 2012

Basic Clin Pharma Tox

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Despite scarce data pertaining to prescription drug sales in Greece, the lack of large-scale epidemiological studies has made it difficult to elaborate on putative differences regarding drug consumption patterns between the two sexes. Herein, we sought to investigate whether sex may have an impact on medication trends of the Greek population. The data reported are part of a survey conducted under the auspices of the National Center for Social Research. Information was collected from 2499 Athenian citizens. Probability of drug use was assessed through Pearson chi-square (v 2 ) test and logistic regression was implemented to clarify whether sex or other socio-economic and morbidity factors may influence drug utilization. Women consumed more drugs as compared to men. Sex proved to be a differentiating factor influencing the use of analgesic/non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, cardiovascular, anxiolytic and antidepressant drugs, as well as drugs for the treatment of thyroid diseases and osteoporosis. Present results further implicate other socio-economic factors (e.g. education, employment and financial status) in the harnessing of drug use in Greece. To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest pharmacoepidemiological study to report that Greek women consume more drugs and present different medication patterns, as compared to men. Further research is considered imperative in order for the awareness of prescribers, policy-makers and the general public on this sensitive matter to be increased.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…In addition, drug utilization has been boosted as a result of the rise of average life expectancy [3][4][5][6][7]. Notably, the pronounced biological and social differences between men and women have been suggested to differentially affect drug consumption between the two sexes [4, [8][9][10][11][12].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Is Drug Utilization in Greece Sex dependent? A Population‐based Study

Athanasopoulos

Pitychoutis

Messari

et al. 2012

Basic Clin Pharma Tox

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“…Women showed a higher proportion of use than men, and this counted for all drug groups: anxiolytics, BZD hypnotics, z-hypnotics and antidepressants (papers I, II, III and IV). This is in concordance with other studies (24,93,101). Among users of anxiolytics or hypnotics, only women showed higher mortality after adjustment for lifestyle and socioeconomic variables (paper I).…”

Section: Women Show a Higher Proportion Of Use Of Psychotropic Drugs supporting

confidence: 83%

“…The use of psychotropic drugs among people with mental distress or mental disorders has been studied both for institutionalized (114)(115)(116) and non-institutionalized populations (23,24,76,90,101,104,107,108,117).…”

Section: Factors Associated With Psychotropic Drug Usementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In cross-sectional studies, the use of one or more categories of psychotropic drugs in the general population has been shown to be associated with certain health, lifestyle and socioeconomic factors: female gender (24,93,101), increasing age (24,93,101), poor selfreported somatic health (24,93,(101)(102)(103), diagnosed concurrent chronic somatic morbidity and non-participation in the labour market (110,113).…”

Section: Factors Associated With Psychotropic Drug Usementioning

confidence: 99%

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Use of anxiolytic or hypnotic drugs and total mortality in a general middle‐aged population

Hausken

Skurtveit

Tverdal

2007

Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug

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PurposeThe aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of the consumption of anxiolytic or hypnotic drugs on total mortality in a general population.MethodsWe followed a cohort of 7225 men and 7726 women aged 40–42 years who underwent health surveys in 1985–1989 in two Norwegian counties, with respect to deaths. Mean follow‐up period was 18 years. The subjects were categorised according to frequency of anxiolytic or hypnotic drug use during the last month: daily, every week, less than every week and not used during the last month.ResultsThe proportion of anxiolytic or hypnotic drug users was 6.6% among men and 16.2% among women. Altogether 402 men and 290 women died. There was an increase in risk of death with an increase in frequency of use. Crude hazard ratios for men and women daily using anxiolytics or hypnotics were 3.1 (95%CI 2.0, 4.8) and 2.7 (1.9, 4.0), respectively, as compared with non‐users last month. After adjusting painkiller use and smoking the hazard ratios were lowered, being 2.4 (1.5–4.0) (men) and 2.1 (1.4–3.2) (women). After additional adjustments for other possible confounders the hazard ratios were further attenuated to 1.5 (0.9–2.7) for men and 1.7 (1.1–2.6) for women.ConclusionsDaily users of anxiolytic or hypnotic drugs in our study showed higher crude mortality than non‐users. However, after adjusting lifestyle and socio‐economic variables the difference was markedly reduced suggesting that the remaining excess mortality is due to residual confounding. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Benzodiazepine Use in the United States

2015

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enzodiazepines are widely used in the treatment of anxiety and sleep problems. 1-3 The efficacy of benzodiazepines surpasses placebos in controlling a range of anxiety symptoms 4,5 and reducing the onset of sleep latency. 6 Although practice guidelines recommend newer antidepressants in place of benzodiazepines as first-line treatments for anxiety disorders, 7 there is no evidence for the superior short-term efficacy of antidepressants for anxiety disorders. 8 Moreover, practice guidelines recommend that initial approaches to the management of primary insomnia should include behavioral interventions, 9,10 although behavioral interventions and benzodiazepines yield similar short-term sleep-related outcomes. 11 When benzodiazepines are used for extended periods of time, they may lead to problems associated with discontinuation and withdrawal symptoms 12,13 and abuse. 14 In 2008, there were approximately 272 000 emergency department visits in the United States involving nonmedical use of benzodiazepines, of which 40.0% also involved alcohol, 15 which increased to approximately 426 000 visits in 2011, of which 24.2% also involved alcohol. 16 Among older individuals, medical benzodiazepine use poses risks of serious adverse effects including impaired cognitive functioning, 17 reduced mobility and driving skills, 18,19 and increased risks of falls. 20 Research further indicates that the risks of falls is greater for benzodiaz-IMPORTANCE Although concern exists regarding the rate of benzodiazepine use, especially long-term use by older adults, little information is available concerning patterns of benzodiazepine use in the United States. OBJECTIVE To describe benzodiazepine prescription patterns in the United States focusing on patient age and duration of use. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS A retrospective descriptive analysis of benzodiazepine prescriptions was performed with the 2008 LifeLink LRx Longitudinal Prescription database (IMS Health Inc), which includes approximately 60% of all retail pharmacies in the United States. Denominators were adjusted to generalize estimates to the US population. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The percentage of adults filling 1 or more benzodiazepine prescriptions during the study year by sex and age group (18-35 years, 36-50 years, 51-64 years, and 65-80 years) and among individuals receiving benzodiazepines, the corresponding percentages with long-term (Ն120 days) benzodiazepine use, prescription of a long-acting benzodiazepine, and benzodiazepine prescriptions from a psychiatrist. RESULTS In 2008, approximately 5.2% of US adults aged 18 to 80 years used benzodiazepines. The percentage who used benzodiazepines increased with age from 2.6% (18-35 years) to 5.4% (36-50 years) to 7.4% (51-64 years) to 8.7% (65-80 years). Benzodiazepine use was nearly twice as prevalent in women as men. The proportion of benzodiazepine use that was long term increased with age from 14.7% (18-35 years) to 31.4% (65-80 years), while the proportion that received a benzodiazepine prescription from a psychi...

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Gender differences in the use of anxiolytics and antidepressants: a population based study

Cited by 38 publications

References 29 publications

Is Drug Utilization in Greece Sex dependent? A Population‐based Study

Is Drug Utilization in Greece Sex dependent? A Population‐based Study

Use of anxiolytic or hypnotic drugs and total mortality in a general middle‐aged population

Benzodiazepine Use in the United States

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