Table 1.
Patient characteristics
| Patient characteristics | Prolonged use of CNSDs | CNSD misuse or dependence | ||
| No (n=146) | Yes (n=100) | No (n=61) | Yes (n=39) | |
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 71 (49%) | 66 (66%) | 38 (62%) | 28 (72%) |
| Male | 75 (51%) | 34 (34%) | 23 (38%) | 11 (28%) |
| Age groups, years | ||||
| 65–74 | 73 (50%) | 28 (28%) | 18 (29%) | 10 (25%) |
| 75–84 | 59 (40%) | 51 (51%) | 34 (56%) | 17 (44%) |
| ≥85 | 14 (10%) | 21 (21%) | 9 (15%) | 12 (31%) |
| Education, years | ||||
| Basic education (≤10) | 16 (12%) | 30 (32%) | 17 (29%) | 13 (36%) |
| Secondary education (11–13) | 64 (46%) | 31 (33%) | 21 (36%) | 10 (28%) |
| Higher education (≥14) | 58 (42%) | 33 (35%) | 20 (35%) | 13 (36%) |
| Income (Norwegian krone/year) | ||||
| <200 000 | 8 (7%) | 13 (15%) | 7 (14%) | 6 (18%) |
| 200 000–349 000 | 42 (34%) | 43 (51%) | 24 (46%) | 19 (58%) |
| ≥350 000 | 72 (59%) | 29 (34%) | 21 (40%) | 8 (24%) |
| Living alone | ||||
| No | 87 (60%) | 45 (45%) | 33 (54%) | 12 (31%) |
| Yes | 59 (40%) | 55 (55%) | 28 (46%) | 27 (69%) |
| Polypharmacy (≥5 drugs/day) | ||||
| No | 55 (38%) | 8 (8%) | 6 (10%) | 2 (5%) |
| Yes | 91 (62%) | 92 (92%) | 55 (90%) | 37 (95%) |
| Anxiety scores (HADS-A) | ||||
| Mean (SD) | 4.13 (3.28) | 4.97 (3.91) | 4.47 (3.54) | 5.68 (4.34) |
| Median (range) | 4 (0–14) | 4 (0–16) | 4 (0–16) | 5 (0–15) |
| Depression scores (HADS-D) | ||||
| Mean (SD) | 3.60 (2.98) | 5.13 (3.49) | 4.89 (3.26) | 5.49 (3.81) |
| Median (range) | 3 (0–13) | 4 (0–15) | 4 (0–12) | 5 (0–15) |
| Pain intensity (mm on VAS) | ||||
| Mean (SD) | 18.07 (24.21) | 35.20 (30.35) | 30.56 (28.30) | 42.08 (32.34) |
| Median (range) | 7 (0–91) | 29.50 (0–97) | 27 (0–97) | 48 (0–93) |
| Duration of CNSD use (weeks) | ||||
| Mean (SD) | – | 71.47 (113.44) | 72.10 (138.38) | 70.48 (57.36) |
| Median (range) | – | 50.50 (4-988) | 33 (4–988) | 52 (4–232) |
| Concurrent use (of >1 CNSDs) | ||||
| No (exclusive use) | – | 70 (70%) | 49 (80%) | 21 (54%) |
| Yes | – | 30 (30%) | 12 (20%) | 18 (46%) |
CNSD, central nervous system depressant drugs; HADS-D/A, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, depression or anxiety subscale; VAS, Visual Analogue Scale.