Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35885868›Full record

ArticleHealthcare (Basel, Switzerland)2022

Trends and Geographic Variabilities in Benzodiazepines Prescription in Primary Care to Older Adults: A 3-Year Population-Based Ecological Study in Portugal.

Ana Bárbara Tavares, Ana Isabel Placido, Daniela Almeida Rodrigues, Manuel Morgado, Adolfo Figueiras, Maria Teresa Herdeiro, Fátima Roque

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.1field-weighted citation impact, top 53% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Ana Bárbara TavaresResearch Unit for Inland Development, Polytechnic of Guarda (UDI-IPG), 6300-559 Guarda, Portugal.
Ana Isabel PlacidoResearch Unit for Inland Development, Polytechnic of Guarda (UDI-IPG), 6300-559 Guarda, Portugal.ORCID 0000-0002-2316-6770
Daniela Almeida RodriguesResearch Unit for Inland Development, Polytechnic of Guarda (UDI-IPG), 6300-559 Guarda, Portugal.ORCID 0000-0002-4708-8965
Manuel MorgadoResearch Unit for Inland Development, Polytechnic of Guarda (UDI-IPG), 6300-559 Guarda, Portugal.ORCID 0000-0003-2112-2835
Adolfo FigueirasConsortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), 28001 Madrid, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-5766-8672
Maria Teresa HerdeiroInstitute of Biomedicine, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.ORCID 0000-0002-0500-4049
Fátima RoqueResearch Unit for Inland Development, Polytechnic of Guarda (UDI-IPG), 6300-559 Guarda, Portugal.ORCID 0000-0003-0169-3788
Instituto Politécnico da Guarda · PTUniversity of Beira Interior · PTInstituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago · ESUniversity of Aveiro · PT

Funding

Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia PTDC/MED-FAR/31598/2017
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

(1) Background: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), benzodiazepines (BZD) are considered essential medicines for the treatment of several mental disorders in older adults over 65 years old. However, the long-term use of BZD could present a harmful impact on this population, leading to cognitive deficits, drug dependence, falls, and fractures. This study aims to analyze trends of BZD prescription to Portuguese older adults in the primary care setting, and to analyze the change in the prescription rate of BZD over time, assessing the geographical variability in mainland Portugal. (2) Methods: A nationwide, retrospective ecological study was performed between January 2019 and December 2021 for BZD prescribing data reported in a national public database for all persons aged 65 and older in mainland Portugal (about 2.4 million). Trends of BZD by defined daily doses (DDD) and per 1000 older adults' inhabitants per day (DID) were analyzed. (3) Results: A total of 19 BZD were included in this study and more than 1 million BZD prescriptions were recorded in each year of this study period. BZD prescriptions were three times higher in females than in males. Alprazolam, lorazepam, diazepam, ethyl loflazepate, and bromazepam were the most prescribed BZD over the years, presenting the higher DDD and DID values. (4) Conclusions: Despite the DID value growth of several BZD, Portugal is now showing stable BZD prescriptions in older adults, between the years 2019 to 2021. More studies are needed to access if these results are a consequence of successful health programs or just a consequence of the pandemic context that we are facing, which limited older adults' clinical appointments.

Indexed as

benzodiazepinesolder patientsPortugalprescription trends

Identifiers

PMID35885868
PMCPMC9324858
OpenAlexW4286213930

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.