Skip to main content
. 2007 Feb 12;64(2):210–218. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2125.2007.02847.x

Table 3.

Pharmacoepidemiological data on drug use, drug abuse parameters and concomitant use of benzodiazepines and opioids for the different users of carisoprodol, codein combinations, diazepam, esomeprazole, metformin and salbutamol

Drug user characteristics Drug abuse parameters Other prescriptions§
N Age (years), mean (SD) Female gender, N (%) Drug (DDDs year−1), mean (SD) Share from GPs*, (%) Lorenz 1%, % of all drug dispensed Max. therapeutic intensity (highest prescription: DDDs day−1), mean (SD) Number of pharmacies, mean (SD) Number of prescribers, mean (SD) More than 3 prescribers N (%) From 1% highest prescribersN (%) Benzo- diazepines (DDDs year−1), mean (SD) Opioides (DDDs year−1), mean (SD)
Carisoprodol 83 713 48.4 (14.0) 53 889 (64.4) 45 (110) 54 17.7 1.3 (3.3) 1.1 (0.4) 1.1 (0.5) 1842 (2.2) 10 967 (13.0) 74 (295) 59 (194)
Codeine combinations – exclusive psycholeptics 378 524 52.7 (18.8) 214 070 (57%) 51 (118) 53 16.4 1.5 (3.9) 1.1 (0.4) 1.2 (0.6) 13 852 (3.7) 32 204 (8.5) 51 (213) 56 (138)
Diazepam 150 156 58.5 (18.4) 97 212 (65%) 114 (191) 56 10.6 2.0 (6.2) 1.2 (0.5) 1.2 (0.5) 3 992 (2.7) 21 543 (14.3) 154 (310) 52 (174)
Esomeprazole 112 138 57.8 (17.2) 60 052 (54%) 166 (170) 52 5.3 2.7 (9.9) 1.17 (0.45) 1.1 (0.4) 1 557 (1.4) 8 650 (7.7) 37 (175) 26 (120)
Metformin 59 536 62.9 (14.3) 28 672 (48%) 236 (160) 58 3.2 3.1 (11.8) 1.2 (0.5) 1.1 (0.4) 839 (1.4) 4 749 (8.0) 24 (123) 15 (74)
Salbutamol 134 202 39.5 (25.8) 71 855 (54%) 122 (224) 51 12.3 3.4 (12.2) 1.5 (0.4) 1.1 (0.4) 1 456 (1.1) 8 835 (6.6) 29 (167) 19 (110)

Data are given as mean (standard deviation) or as number (percentage of total number in group) (Norwegian Prescription Database 2004).

*

General practitioners (GPs) were specialists of family medicine. Doctors could be practising as GPs for some years without being specialists in family medicine.

The number of defined daily doses (DDDs) of the drug for each patient receiving at least two prescriptions for the drug was divided by the number of days until the next prescription. If a patient received two prescriptions for the drug on the same day, the number of DDDs on these two prescriptions were added and divided by the number of days until the next prescription. The highest DDD per day for each patient was recorded.

The doctors were characterized according to how much of the total amount of benzodiazepines or opioids they prescribed. The highest prescribing doctors were the 1% of the doctors that had prescribed most of these drugs.

§

For all drugs [including N05BA01 (diazepam) and N02AA59 (codeine combinations)] all opioids and benzodiazepines are included.