[Major depression in consumers of benzodiazepines]

To determine the proportion of benzodiazepines consumers who present a mayor depressive disorder and to observe the clinical evolution after restoring an antidepressive treatment.

An observational design with a transversal character to determine the prevalence of the depression and a pre and after intervention to observe the answer to the treatment.

Primary Care.

Patients of the Centro de Salud Zona IV of Albacete who consume benzodiazepines (size of the sample: 91 subjects, selected by means of a consecutive pattern in three medical offices of general practice).

To install an antidepressive treatment.

We explored the presence of nuclear symptoms of depression by means of a interview. The other analyzed variables were: the cognitive state, the characteristics of the consume of benzodiazepines, the problems of health, the intake of other medicines, the frequentation, the installation of the antidepressive treatment and the sociodemographic characteristics. The patients diagnosed of mayor depression were interviewed again after one month and after three months. 37 patients presented criterion of mayor depression (40.7%) (CI 95%: 30.5-51.5). In these an antidepressive treatment was restored, corresponding to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in the 91.9% of the occasions. The proportion of depressive patients was higher in women (p = 0.04) and under the diagnosed people we observed a lower period of benzodiazepines consume (p = 0.02), although with a much higher daily consume (p = 0.01). Among the 37 patients who initiated the treatment, only 7 presented adverse reaction. 28 patients were appraised after one month, presenting 6 of them 5 or more nuclear symptoms of depression.

The high proportion of mayor depressive frames can justify the systematic investigation of such disorder in benzodiazepines consumers, specially in women and in patients with a high intake. The identification of the nuclear symptoms can be considered as a useful technique to orientate a mayor depression and to evaluate also the results of an antidepressive treatment.