Long-term use of zopiclone, zolpidem and zaleplon among Danish elderly and the association with sociodemographic factors and use of other drugs

Purpose To estimate the degree of long-term use of zopiclone, zolpidem and zaleplon among Danes aged 65 and older and the association with sociodemographic factors and use of other drugs. Methods Danish register-based study of 5000 men and 5000 women aged 65 or older on 1 January 2004. Information on sociodemographic factors and drug redemptions were collected for 2003, with follow-up of zopiclone, zolpidem and zaleplon redemptions in 2004. Long-term use was defined as redemptions corresponding to a continuous daily use for more than 4 weeks (based on 1/2 DDD). The association between long-term use and sociodemographics and drug use was estimated by logistic regression. Results Ten per cent of all men and 16% of all women had a long-term use for minimum 4 weeks corresponding to 94% of the male and 93% of the female users. Four per cent of the men and 6% of the women had redeemed more than 1/2 DDD per day in 2004. Long-term use was associated with: Being a woman, high age, widowed or divorced, high education and high gross income. Long-term use was also associated with use of other drugs, the association with ATC group N being the strongest. Restricting the analyses to individuals who had minimum one zopiclone, zolpidem or zaleplon redemption gave similar results. Conclusion The results indicate that the guidance for length of use is not followed. Long-term use of zopiclone, zolpidem and zaleplon is associated with sociodemographic factors and use of other drugs, particularly from ATC group N. Copyright (C) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.