Table 2.
B&Z prescribed for the Scottish population aged ≥65 years
| Drugs prescribed | Care home n (% of respective population) | Non-care home n (% of respective population) |
|---|---|---|
| Anxiolytic and/or hypnotic | 9199 (28.4) | 97 213 (11.5) |
| Female | 6575 (28.0) | 66 175 (13.8) |
| Male | 2624 (29.4) | 31 038 (8.0) |
|
| ||
| Age, years | ||
| 65–74 | 1297 (33.6) | 48 594 (10.3) |
| 75–84 | 3541 (31.1) | 35 974 (12.5) |
| ≥85 | 4361 (25.4) | 12 645 (14.1) |
|
| ||
| Anxiolytic | 5565 (17.2) | 46 755 (5.5) |
| Female | 3974 (16.9) | 32 745 (6.8) |
| Male | 1591 (17.8) | 14 010 (3.8) |
|
| ||
| Age, years | ||
| 65–74 | 905 (23.4) | 25 974 (5.5) |
| 75–84 | 2265 (19.9) | 16 191 (5.6) |
| ≥85 | 2395 (14.0) | 4590 (5.1) |
|
| ||
| Hypnotic | 5051 (15.6) | 60 860 (7.2) |
| Female | 3589 (15.3) | 40 838 (8.5) |
| Male | 1462 (16.4) | 20 022 (5.5) |
|
| ||
| Age, years | ||
| 65–74 | 615 (15.9) | 28 214 (6.0) |
| 75–84 | 1864 (16.4) | 23 446 (8.2) |
| ≥85 | 2572 (15.0) | 9200 (10.3) |
|
| ||
| Both an anxiolytic and hypnotic | 1417 (4.4) | 10 402 (1.2) |
|
| ||
| Choice of drug | % of prescriptions | % of prescriptions |
|
| ||
| Anxiolytics | ||
| Lorazepam (S) | 49.9 | 15.6 |
| Diazepam (L) | 46.6 | 77.0 |
| Others: chlordiazepoxide (L) or oxazepam (L) | 3.8 | 7.4 |
|
| ||
| Hypnotics | ||
| Zopiclone (S) | 52.9 | 39.0 |
| Temazepam (S) | 33.7 | 36.6 |
| Nitrazepam (L) | 6.6 | 13.6 |
| Zolpidem (S) | 5.5 | 9.5 |
| Others: loprazolam (S), lormetazepam (S) or zaleplon (S) | 1.3 | 1.3 |
B&Z = benzodiazepines and z-hypnotics. L = long-acting drug. S = short-acting drug