Abstract for presentation at National Medicines Symposium 2006

Objective: As benzodiazepine use in the elderly places these patients at increased risk of adverse events, this study aimed to examine the prevalence of benzodiazepine use in this group.
Design: A systematic review of international benzodiazepine prevalence literature and an observational study using data from a general practice clinical records database (Medic-GP).
Subjects & Setting: Subjects were patients of 29 GPs from 7 practices in South Australia and Victoria. All records of patients aged 65 and over from the 2002 calendar year were examined.
Main Outcome Measure: Proportion of patients with at least one benzodiazepine prescription.
Results: Sixteen percent of elderly patients had at least one benzodiazepine prescription. Prevalence of benzodiazepine prescribing for females was 19.6% and for males 10.8% (prevalence ratio = 1.8). Prevalence increased with increasing age, ranging from 11.1% in the 65-69 year old age group, to 21.8% in those aged 85 and over. Forty percent of users had only one prescription but 15% had been prescribed benzodiazepines for more than 6 months. Sixty-nine percent of benzodiazepine prescriptions were for short acting drugs and nearly 30% of prescriptions were for long acting drugs.
Conclusions: Despite published evidence and guidelines regarding risks of benzodiazepines, these drugs continue to be widely prescribed for the elderly. These findings are consistent with other studies. Limited availability and cost of alternative therapies, and the inherent challenges facing the primary care system in Australia may contribute to the continued use of benzodiazepines.