Psychotropic drug use in Northern Ireland 1966–80: prescribing trends, inter- and intra-regional comparisons and relationship to demographic and socioeconomic variables

Abstract

SynopsisA study of psychotropic drug prescribing, derived from the computerized pricing data in Northern Ireland from 1966, showed that the use of these drugs reached a peak in 1975, when about 12·5% of the adult population were estimated to have been receiving them, and declined in the following 5 years. Benzodioazepines accounted for three-quarters of all psychotropic drugs prescribed in 1980. Benzodiazepine tranquillizer prescribing was consistently 20–30% higher than in the rest of the United Kindom, in contrast to hypnotic and antidepressant prescribing which has been consistently lower. The rate of increase in benzodiazepine tranquillizer prescribing was greater than in other European countries, but the level remains lower than in Iceland and Denmark. The influence of a number of demographic and socioeconomic variables was studied in an intra-regional analysis of the 1978 data for the 17 health districts in the province, using multivariate and multiple regression statistics. The prescribing of benzodiazepine hypnotics was almost entirely accounted for by the proportion of elderly (over 65 years) and women aged 45–59 years; neuroleptic prescribing was largely a function of factors associated with rural areas (overcrowding and unemployment) and the proportion of elderly; but neither tranquillizer, antidepressant, barbiturate hypnotic nor psychostimulant prescribing were satisfactorily explained by these variables.

Use of Psychotropic Drugs in General Medical Geriatric Inpatients

“…Female gender did not seem to predispose the subject towards the use of psychotropic drugs. Similarly in this study marital status and duration of hospital stay do not seem to be relevant predisposing factors to drug use, which is in disagreement with most previous studies [Gremblatt et al, 1975;Skegg et al, 1977;Cooperstock and Parnell, 1982;King et al, 1982;Magni et al, 1985a]. However, this may be due to the smaller size of our population with respect to those of some previous studies.…”

Medications as Risk Factor for Falls

“…Intensive prescribing initiatives in parts of the UK (excluding NI), as early as 1988 [39], to reduce inappropriate benzodiazepine prescribing, may have accounted for these differences and benzodiazepine dispensing decreased by 51.3% between 1980 and 2009, in England alone [40]. It has been suggested that the legacy of civil disturbances in NI, from previous decades, may have influenced patterns of benzodiazepine prescribing in this jurisdiction [41]. This highlights the multitude of factors influencing PIP, many of which may be difficult to modify.…”

Drug use and drug markets in the context of political conflict: The case of Northern Ireland

“…Some evidence from the 1970s suggests that the use of tranquillisers in Northern Ireland was quite high in comparison to other regions and countries. For example, in a comparative study of several European countries, King et al (1982) found that the rate of tranquilliser prescriptions per adult population in Northern Ireland ranked second among the list of countries studied. The use of tranquillisers has been documented by researchers who have examined other political conflicts.…”