title: [Factors associated with short- and long-term use of benzodiazepines in the elderly from Quebec].
abstract: In Quebec, benzodiazepines are some of the most extensively used drugs by the elderly. The goal of this study was to identify factors associated with short- and long-term benzodiazepine use among 2,039 elderly persons having participated in the Quebec Health Survey conducted in 1998. Results of the multivariate, multinomial logistic regression showed that a higher number of chronic health problems, a higher number of physicians visited and general practitioners consulted were associated with short- and long-term use of benzodiazepines. Factors specifically associated with long-term use were female gender (OR = 1.84) and the presence of benzodiazepine users in the household (OR = 1.90). In this study, we were unable to show a difference between the two groups of users with regards to the risk factors studied. This result leads us to conclude that prevention of long-term use must be aimed at all new benzodiazepine users.
authors.affiliation: Faculté de médecine de l'Université de Sherbrooke et Centre de recherche sur le vieillissement de l'Institut universitaire de geriatrie de Sherbrooke, 1036 rue Belvedere Sud, Sherbrooke, QC, J1H 4C4, Canada. Dany.Fortin@USherbrooke.ca
authors.forename: Dany
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fortin
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Préville
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ducharme
authors.forename: Réjean
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hébert
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Allard
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Grégoire
authors.forename: Lise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Trottier
authors.forename: Anick
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bérard
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001569:Benzodiazepines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011792:Quebec; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D001569:Benzodiazepines