Study on withdrawal of hypnotics: questionnaire on hypnotic use and its withdrawal.
To investigate the situation and problems contingent to hypnotic use and withdrawal, we conducted a questionnaire of outpatients. Only 41% of the patients were satisfied with their sleep and 53% of the patients took hypnotics. As regards the period, 83% of users had used them for more than 1 year and 19% had used them for more than 10 years. Although 90% of patients perceived efficacy of hypnotics, 67% felt more or less anxious about hypnotic use. Sixty-seven per cent of patients had actually withdrawn from the drugs or decreased dosage before. More than half the patients' conditions worsened after the withdrawal or reducing dosage.
Mukai
M
M
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kurume University, Kurume, Japan. mukai66@aol.com
Uchimura
N
N
Takeuchi
N
N
Kuwahara
H
H
Hashizume
Y
Y
Nose
I
I
Satomura
T
T
Tanaka
J
J
Maeda
H
H
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives