Factors associated with psychotropic drug use among community-dwelling older persons: A review of empirical studies

Voyer, Philippe; Cohen, David; Lauzon, Sylvie; Collin, Johanne

doi:10.1186/1472-6955-3-3

Cited by 45 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 84 publications

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“…11,30 Also, women have more contact with health care services, 11,30 they talk about their health problems more easily during consultations to their physicians, they express their desire for a prescription more clearly and they demonstrate a greater acceptance of psychopharmacs (among which are included the benzodiazepines). 30 In the present study, being a widow was positively associated with the use of benzodiazepines in the univariate analysis, but the association disappeared after adjustment for confounders, which was also observed in other studies. 11 Since, in this population, the female gender and being a widow were strongly correlated, the association between the latter and the use of benzodiazepines was confounded by gender.…”

Section: 30mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The hypotheses formulated to explain this association are related to health conditions and the use of health services, including issues of doctor-patient relationship. Because women live longer than men, they suffer more strongly and more frequently than men from the psychological effects of aging, 30 and from health problems linked to psychic disorders. 11,30 Also, women have more contact with health care services, 11,30 they talk about their health problems more easily during consultations to their physicians, they express their desire for a prescription more clearly and they demonstrate a greater acceptance of psychopharmacs (among which are included the benzodiazepines).…”

Section: 30mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because women live longer than men, they suffer more strongly and more frequently than men from the psychological effects of aging, 30 and from health problems linked to psychic disorders. 11,30 Also, women have more contact with health care services, 11,30 they talk about their health problems more easily during consultations to their physicians, they express their desire for a prescription more clearly and they demonstrate a greater acceptance of psychopharmacs (among which are included the benzodiazepines). 30 In the present study, being a widow was positively associated with the use of benzodiazepines in the univariate analysis, but the association disappeared after adjustment for confounders, which was also observed in other studies.…”

Section: 30mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prevalence and sociodemographic characteristics associated with benzodiazepines use among community dwelling older adults: the Bambuí Health and Aging Study (BHAS)

Alvarenga

Filho

Firmo

et al. 2007

Rev. Bras. Psiquiatr.

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Introduction Fear or anxious apprehension are emotional responses to danger or threat. For thousands of years humans have used diverse substances to alleviate this negative emotional state. One of the first tranquilizers used, and which continues to be consumed until today, is alcohol; others followed, such as barbiturates, bromides and meprobamates. 1 Since they were released in the market in 1960, the benzodiazepines became the most prescribed drugs and the most used to combat anxiety and insomnia in the whole world.2 This use stemmed from their efficiency, security, and lower potential to cause dependence, their tolerance as well as wide therapeutic applicability. 3 Nonetheless, the use of benzodiazepines has been associated with several adverse effects, such as motor disturbances, falls, daytime sleepiness and cognitive decline. The modifications in metabolism which accompany the ageing process make the elderly an especially vulnerable age group to these undesirable medication effects, 3 which are even worse when long half-life benzodiazepines are used for prolonged periods, especially when not accompanied by an adequate clinical monitoring. 4 The use of benzodiazepines is frequent among the elderly. Although a decrease in prescribing benzodiazepines for the elderly has been observed in some studies, 5,6 population-based studies continue to demonstrate high prevalences in the consumption of these medications in developed countries, and levels ranged from 20.0% in Canada 7 to 31.9% in France.8 With respect to the type of benzodiazepines most used, there is a diversity of results in different countries.8-10 It has been described that female gender is the sociodemographic characteristic most consistently found to be associated with the use of benzodiazepines among the elderly. 5,6,8,9,11 Brazilian epidemiological studies on the use of benzodiazepines among the elderly dealt with selected populations and/or investigated specific associations, such as the occurrence of falls.12-15 Populationbased studies on the consumption of these medications have been accomplished on younger individuals, 16,17 and the benzodiazepine consumption was investigated in a much wider context, which was the use of psychopharmacs. [18][19][20] The population-based studies showed benzodiazepines as the most commonly used psychopharmacs in the adult population, [17][18][19][20] and among these, Diazepam was the most used chemical substance. 16,18,19 In these studies, the consumption of benzodiazepines was higher among women, 16,17 among older subjects and among the wealthy. 17To our knowledge, there are no Brazilian studies on the profile of use of benzodiazepines among community-dwelling older adults. As the use of these medications among the elderly is more frequent and involves greater risks and taking into consideration the rapid aging of the Brazilian population, 21 it is important to investigate this question in greater detail in this country.The present study has the following objectives: 1) to determine the prevalence of be...

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Section: 30mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: 30mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: 30mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prevalence and sociodemographic characteristics associated with benzodiazepines use among community dwelling older adults: the Bambuí Health and Aging Study (BHAS)

Alvarenga

Filho

Firmo

et al. 2007

Rev. Bras. Psiquiatr.

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“…Psychotropic drugs act directly on the central nervous system, and constitute an important therapeutic resource for the treatment of behavioral and mood disorders 1 . The increase in psychotropic drug prescriptions and the controversies surrounding their efficacy and tolerability have drawn the attention of health care researchers 2,3 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uso de psicofármacos entre idosos residentes em comunidade: prevalência e fatores associados

Abi-Ackel

Lima‐Costa

Castro-Costa

et al. 2017

Rev. bras. epidemiol.

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ABSTRACT:Objective: Investigating the prevalence of psychotropic drug use among older adults and factors associated with it. Methods: This study was based on the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Area Health Survey, conducted in 2003. It involved 1,635 elderly (60 years or older) citizens, who were residents of cities within the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Area and were selected using complex randomize sampling. Logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with psychotropic drug use, with a 5.0% significance level. Results:The prevalence of psychotropic drug use in the sample was 13.4%; specifically, 8.3% of individuals surveyed used benzodiazepines, whereas 5.0% used antidepressants. The following factors were independently associated with the use of psychotropic drugs: female gender (OR = 2.20; 95%CI 1.49 -3.27), medical diagnosis of depression (OR = 6.42; 95%CI 4.31 -9.55), 5 or more medical appointments in the last 12 months (OR = 2.15; 95%CI 1.32 -3.53), and subscription to private health insurance (OR = 2.69; 95%CI 1.86 -3.88). Conclusion:The prevalence observed was similar to the one verified in other elderly Brazilian populations and the pattern of associated factors was consistent with the one detected for older populations of higher-income countries. Medical diagnosis of depression was the factor most strongly associated with psychotropic drug use.

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Engagement in leisure activities and benzodiazepine use in a French community‐dwelling elderly population

Bazin

Noïze

Dartigues

et al. 2011

Int J Geriat Psychiatry

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Factors associated with psychotropic drug use among community-dwelling older persons: A review of empirical studies

Cited by 45 publications

References 84 publications

Prevalence and sociodemographic characteristics associated with benzodiazepines use among community dwelling older adults: the Bambuí Health and Aging Study (BHAS)

Prevalence and sociodemographic characteristics associated with benzodiazepines use among community dwelling older adults: the Bambuí Health and Aging Study (BHAS)

Uso de psicofármacos entre idosos residentes em comunidade: prevalência e fatores associados

Engagement in leisure activities and benzodiazepine use in a French community‐dwelling elderly population

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