| Abstract [eng] |
Lurdes Gaidelytė's master's thesis, supervisor Kostas Ivanauskas: Benzodiazepine use in Lithuania. Vilnius University Faculty of Medicine - Vilnius. Aim: To investigate and analyse the use of benzodiazepines in Lithuania regardless of gender and among patients of different age groups. Objectives: To assess the data on benzodiazepine use in Lithuania for the period 2018-2021, comparing the number of e-prescriptions provided in the esveikatos with the data provided by the State Medicines Control Authority. To assess benzodiazepine use among all age and sex groups from 2018 to 2021; To assess benzodiazepine use among young people from 2018 to 2021; To assess benzodiazepine use among different age groups in 2021; To assess benzodiazepine use among different sexes in 2021; To assess the causes of benzodiazepine use among different age groups in 2021. Methodology: The study used open data from the ESPBI IS electronic prescription subsystem, which are available on the Lithuanian Open Data Portal of the Centre of Registers. The data on prescriptions for anxiolytics N05BA in Lithuania for the years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 were selected for analysis, and all medicines included in these groups according to the ATC code were analysed. The share of electronic prescriptions and paper prescriptions in 2018-2021 was assessed based on the data from the State Medicines Control Authority's Drug Consumption Report. A quantitative analysis method was further used. Calculations were based on the number of electronic prescriptions per 1000 inhabitants per day. Results and conclusions: Lorazepam and Alprazolam are the most commonly prescribed benzodiazepines, which may reflect their popularity and the most common reasons for use. Women are more likely to use benzodiazepines for anxiety, depression and sleep disorders, while men are more likely to use benzodiazepines for paranoid schizophrenia. This reflects the different mental health problems and needs of women and men, which suggests some gender differences in the prescription of benzodiazepines for different conditions. Overall E-prescribing for benzodiazepines remains stable, while paper prescribing has declined sharply in recent years, perhaps reflecting greater concern about the dangerous side effects of these drugs, or perhaps reflecting a general awareness among both healthcare professionals and patients. |
