Raoof Mustafa, Nawaz Haq, Nusrat Rabeeya, Pabaney Aqueel Hussain, Randhawa Ali Raza, Rehman Rabeea, Rizvi Nida Butool, Naqvi Haider
Aga Khan University, Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan.
PLoS One. 2008 Mar 19;3(3):e1804. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0001804.
Indiscriminate prescription of Benzodiazepines in Pakistan and subsequent availability over-the-counter without prescription is a major public health problem, requiring systematic inquiry through research. Additionally, there is limited data on the awareness and use of Benzodiazepines from developing countries making it impossible to devise meaningful health policies.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This was an Observational, Cross-Sectional study. conducted at Aga Khan University. A total of 475 (58.5% males, 41.5% females) people visiting a tertiary care hospital were interviewed by means of a structured questionnaire. The results showed that majority of population was aware of one or more Benzodiazepines (80.4%) and 30.4% had used them at some point in life. 42.4% of the users had been using it for more than a year. Commonest reason for use was sleep disturbance. Frequency of usage was higher for females, married individuals, educated (>Grade12), high socioeconomic status and housewives. More (59%) were prescribed than not and of them most by GP (58.5%). Only 36.5% of them were particularly told about the long-term addiction potential by the use of these drugs.
Easy availability, access to re-fills without prescription and self prescription compounded with the lack of understanding of abuse potential of benzodiazepines constitutes a significant problem demanding serious consideration from health policy makers.
在巴基斯坦，苯二氮䓬类药物的滥用处方以及随后无需处方即可在柜台买到该药物的情况是一个重大的公共卫生问题，需要通过研究进行系统调查。此外，来自发展中国家的关于苯二氮䓬类药物的认知和使用的数据有限，这使得制定有意义的卫生政策变得不可能。
方法/主要发现：这是一项在阿迦汗大学进行的观察性横断面研究。通过结构化问卷对总共475名（58.5%为男性，41.5%为女性）前往三级护理医院就诊的人员进行了访谈。结果显示，大多数人知晓一种或多种苯二氮䓬类药物（80.4%），并且30.4%的人在生活中的某个时候使用过它们。42.4%的使用者使用该药物超过一年。使用的最常见原因是睡眠障碍。女性、已婚者、受过教育的人（>12年级）、高社会经济地位者和家庭主妇的使用频率更高。开具处方的情况多于未开具处方的情况（59%），其中大多数是由全科医生开具的（58.5%）。只有36.5%的使用者被特别告知使用这些药物存在长期成瘾的可能性。
容易获取、无需处方即可重新配药以及自我开处方，再加上对苯二氮䓬类药物滥用可能性缺乏了解，构成了一个重大问题，需要卫生政策制定者认真考虑。
