Table 2. Characteristics of subjects with insomnia and hypnotic use (N = 5693).
| Group | No. (%) | |
| Category | ||
| BZD | 1915 | (33.6) |
| non-BZD | 2812 | (49.4) |
| BZD and non-BZD | 966 | (17.0) |
| Half-life# | ||
| Short-acting | 4465 | (78.4) |
| Intermediate-acting | 895 | (15.7) |
| Long-acting | 333 | (5.8) |
| Dose* | ||
| Low$ | 2718 | |
| Medium | 2971 | (52.2) |
| High | 2722 | (47.8) |
| Period+ | ||
| Remote | 3434 | (60.3) |
| Previous | 792 | (13.9) |
| Current | 1467 | (25.8) |
Abbreviation: BZD, benzodiazepine.
#
There were 273 patients (5.76%) switched from short-acting to intermediate-acting (N = 199) or long-acting (N = 74) and 51 patients (5.39%) switched from intermediate-acting to long-acting hypnotics.
*
Low: 7 to 30 defined daily dose (DDD) per year; medium: 31 to 90 DDD per year; high: at least 91 DDD per year.
$
Additional included subjects.
+ Current: prescription of hypnotics ended within 30 days before dementia index date; previous: prescription ended 31 to 90 days before dementia index date; remote: prescription ended 91 days or more before dementia index date.