Premium
A general population survey on patterns of benzodiazepine use and dependence in Lebanon
Author(s) -
Naja W. J.,
Pelissolo A.,
Haddad R. S.,
Baddoura R.,
Baddoura C.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1034/j.1600-0447.2000.102006429.x
Subject(s) - benzodiazepine , epidemiology , population , medical prescription , medicine , demography , psychology , psychiatry , environmental health , pharmacology , receptor , sociology
Objective: In Lebanon, benzodiazepines are often available without medical prescription. We aimed to carry out the first community‐based pharmaco‐epidemiological study on benzodiazepine consumption in the Middle East Area. Method: The prevalence of past‐month benzodiazepine use was assessed in a 1000‐subject randomized sample from the Lebanese community, and risk factors were studied in a group of 496 current users. Results: Benzodiazepine use during the past month was found in 9.6% of subjects. Four variables were significantly associated with use: age higher than 45 years, female sex, cigarette smoking and the existence of a recent life event. Benzodiazepine dependence was found in 50.2% of users. Conclusion: Benzodiazepine use in Lebanon is particularly high, and can be related to well‐known factors such as female sex and age, but other potent specific variables, such as war stress or the lack of control on drug access, can be hypothesized.