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[Profiles of regular consumers of benzodiazepines in a family practice]
A L Lagro-Janssen1, I J Liberton
1Katholieke Universiteit, vakgroep Huisartsgeneeskunde, Nijmegen.
Objective:
To describe the profile of regular users of benzodiazepines in a general practice.
Design:
Case-control study.
Setting:
A duo general practice in Nijmegen.
Method:
Of all regular users of benzodiazepines in a general practice, socio-demographic and morbidity data were collected and the use of benzodiazepines (duration, frequency, type of agent) was determined. By means of a semi-structured interview, the users' experiences and opinions were inventoried. Psychological and physical functioning were determined using the symptom checklist (SCL-90).
Results:
In the group of 99 users (3.1% of the practice population), 53 (1.6% of the practice population) used benzodiazepines every day and had done so for over one year. Most were women over 65 years of age, living alone and with a low educational level. Over 25% were patients with psychiatric/psychogeriatric disorders. Users had frequent chronic diseases, particularly articular disorders and chronic skin diseases. The SCL-90 results indicated a high degree of psychoneuroticism. Most patients felt the medication enabled them to cope better with difficult situations, and the side effects reported were limited in number and severity.
Conclusion:
Users of benzodiazepines were in a high-risk position, both socio-economically and as regards health and mental well-being. Given a strict prescribing policy, the group of chronic users of benzodiazepines was small and easy to control in this practice.