Prevalence of and factors associated with benzodiazepine use in community-resident elderly persons

Abstract

Objective: to assess the prevalence of and factors associated with the use of benzodiazepines in elderly persons living in the community. Method: a cross-sectional study was conducted through a household survey of 423 elderly persons from Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil. To analyze the factors associated with the outcome, the Poisson regression model was used, based on the theoretical model of determination with hierarchical blocks. The variables were adjusted within each block, with those with a 5% significance level remaining in the final model. Result: The prevalence of benzodiazepine use was 18.3% (95% CI 15.2 to 21.6). Most benzodiazepines used had a long-elimination half-life (59.2%) and use was considered long in 85.5% of users. Among benzodiazepine users 38.4% also used antidepressants. The use of these drugs was associated with the presence of self-reported mental and behavioral disorders, polypharmacy and medical visits in the last three months. Conclusion: The use of benzodiazepines was considered high among the elderly. The reduction in the prescription of these drugs should be assessed individually, considering the physiological alterations of the elderly and the adverse effects of drugs, in order to minimize incorrect prescriptions.

Benzodiazepines use in elderly patients attended at a Public Pharmacy in Pernambuco Brazil

“…This predominance is due to the fact that women maintain greater care with their health, identify and report with more clarity and ease physical and psychological symptoms, and also because of the greater fragility that is attributed to them by society 21 . Table 1 shows that a high number of elderly people with chronic noncommunicable diseases (CNCDs) corroborates other studies 22,23 . The aging process increases the number of people with CNCDs, who demand continuous care and where drugs play an important role, making them more susceptible to polypharmacy 24 .…”

Functional capacity: association with risk for falls, fear of falling and pain in the elderly

“…O elevado consumo de psicofármacos pode estar relacionado com a redução da capacidade funcional e consequente pior qualidade de vida (16) . A literatura aponta, ainda, que psicotrópicos e analgésicos são fatores de risco significativamente associados à frequência de quedas em pacientes geriátricos, uma vez que podem provocar hipotensão, sonolência, alteração do equilíbrio e diminuição da tonicidade muscular (17) . Nossos achados mostram a necessidade de se atentar ao grupo de idosos que faz uso de analgésico e psicotrópicos, não só por apresentar maior percentual de dependência, mas também pela maior preocupação com o medo de cair.…”