title: Health-related quality of life in older people using benzodiazepines: a cross-sectional study.
abstract: Aim of this study is to investigate the QoL older people making regular use of BDZ. All subjects aged 65-84 years attending their General Practitioners were invited to fill in a questionnaire about their consumption of BDZ and all the subjects consuming BDZ to fill in the Medical Outcome Measures Short Form-36 (MOS SF-36) and the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD) questionnaires. A total of 2,246 subjects used BDZ and 1,109 (49.4%) of them filled in the MOS SF-36 questionnaire. 1,005 of these participants also completed the PRIME-MD questionnaire (90.6%). The presence of sleep disorders and the characteristics of the BDZ used were not associated with any score in the MOS SF-36 questionnaire, whereas the Prime diagnosis was the most important predictor, since subjects with depression and/or anxiety had a lower mean score on each scale than subjects without disorders. Among a sample of Italian seniors taking BDZ, QoL was associated with the presence of anxiety and/or depression. Age, gender, education and the presence of cardiovascular diseases or stroke were associated with specific aspects of QoL, when anxiety and depression were controlled for.
authors.affiliation: Cattedra di Igiene, Università degli Studi di Brescia, Italy. gelatti@med.unibs.it
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Gelatti
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Samani
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Donato
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Covolo
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mazzaglia
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cremaschini
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Leggieri
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Balestrieri
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy; D001569:Benzodiazepines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D004493:Education; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents; D001569:Benzodiazepines