Trends in incident use of benzodiazepines and Z-drugs in France from 2006 to 2012: a population-based study

Abstract

A limited decrease in incident benzodiazepine use was observed in France between 2006 and 2012 that concerned only hypnotics. Although congruent with recommendations, this improvement appears insufficient with regard to the level of exposure to these drugs in France. New actions especially targeting anxiolytic benzodiazepine use should be undertaken to consolidate these results. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Benzodiazepine and Z‐drug prescribing in Ireland: analysis of national prescribing trends from 2005 to 2015

“…Moreover, prescribing levels have stabilized in recent years, indicating that any progress has stalled and that clear scope exists for further reductions. This is consistent with data from other countries and further highlights the need for targeted interventions to improve the prescribing and use of these medications .…”

“…An overall significant reduction in benzodiazepine prescribing was observed, coupled with significant increases in Z‐drug prescribing, which mirrors trends observed in other countries . However, it is difficult to make direct comparisons between the observed prescribing rates and those reported in other countries because of differences in the nature of the dataset, sample population and time periods examined . This is a challenge with pharmacoepidemiological studies as, even where consistent methods have been applied to multiple European databases, benzodiazepine and Z‐drug prescribing rates have varied considerably and this has been attributed to the characteristics of individual datasets, as well as clinical and policy factors related to the medications examined .…”

Trends in the long‐term use of benzodiazepine anxiolytics and hypnotics: A national register study for 2006 to 2014

“…However, an overall declining trend in BZD use and long‐term use as well as a high nationwide prevalence of long‐term BZD use among the older persons was in line with the results from other countries . In contrast to this, a recent analysis from Israel found a gradual increase in the overall and especially hypnotic BZD and Z‐drug consumption, and a recent French study found a decrease in the number of incident hypnotic users, but not among incident anxiolytic users . Despite a great variation between 7 European countries in the age and gender adjusted prevalence of BZD use, 2 constant international elements in BZD use can be found: the higher prevalence in women and the steadily increasing use with age.…”

Medical prescriptions falsified by the patients: a 12‐year national monitoring to assess prescription drug diversion

“…Together with zolpidem, alprazolam is the only drug to present a constantly increasing mention rate in OSIAP. Alprazolam is the most prescribed benzodiazepine in France in all age classes except between 65 and 79 years old . This is in accordance with the international guidelines, which recommend the use of short half‐life benzodiazepines.…”

“…These measures aimed to restrict drug accessibility (or even to withdraw them from the market) and concerned: in 2008, buprenorphine, flunitrazepam, methadone, and methylphenidate; in 2009, dextropropoxyphene; in Benzodiazepines or related drugs Zolpidem, bromazepam, and alprazolam were associated within the same pattern of diversion, which concerned simple prescription forms presented by women aged between 43 and 59 years old. This coheres with the pattern of subjects being prescribed anxiolytics or hypnotics in France [37,38]. Indeed, in 2012, patients using benzodiazepines were mainly females (anxiolytics: 64.2%, hypnotics: 58.6%) aged between 18 and 44 years old (anxiolytics: 40.9%, hypnotics: 31.5%) or 45 and 64 years old (anxiolytics: 36.4%, hypnotics: 40.2%).…”