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. 2021 May-Jun;15(3):191-200.
doi: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000000736.

Prescription Tranquilizer/Sedative Misuse Motives Across the US Population

Ty S Schepis  1 , Linda Wastila, Sean Esteban McCabe
Affiliations

Prescription Tranquilizer/Sedative Misuse Motives Across the US Population

Ty S Schepis et al. J Addict Med. 2021 May-Jun.

Abstract

Objectives: Roughly 6.5 million US residents engaged in prescription tranquilizer/sedative (eg, benzodiazepines, Z-drugs) misuse in 2018, but tranquilizer/sedative misuse motives are understudied, with a need for nationally representative data and examinations of motives by age group. Our aims were to establish tranquilizer/sedative misuse motives and correlates of motives by age cohort, and whether motive-age cohort interactions existed by correlate.

Methods: Data were from the 2015 to 2018 US National Survey on Drug Use and Health, with 223,520 total respondents (51.5% female); 6580 noted past-year prescription tranquilizer/sedative misuse motives (2.4% overall, 50.3% female). Correlates included substance use (eg, opioid misuse), mental (eg, suicidal ideation) and physical health variables (e.g., inpatient hospitalization). Design-based, weighted cross-tabulations and logistic regression analyses were used, including analyses of age cohort-motive interactions for each correlate.

Results: Prescription tranquilizer/sedative misuse motives varied by age group, with the highest rates of self-treatment only motives (ie, sleep and/or relax) in those 65 and older (82.7%), and the highest rates of any recreational motives in adolescents (12-17 years; 67.5%). Any tranquilizer/sedative misuse was associated with elevated odds of substance use, mental health, and physical health correlates, but recreational misuse was associated with the highest odds. Age-based interactions suggested stronger relationships between tranquilizer/sedative misuse and mental health in adults 50 and older.

Conclusions: Any tranquilizer/sedative misuse signals a need for substance use and mental health screening, with intervention needs most acute in those with any recreational motives. Older adult tranquilizer/sedative misuse may be more driven by undertreated insomnia and anxiety/psychopathology than in younger groups.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
Tranquilizer/Sedative Misuse Motive Category Prevalence by Age Group
Figure 2:
Figure 2:
Odds of Misuse "To Relax" by Level of 30-Day Nervousness Bars represent 95% confidence intervals of the odds ratio estimate
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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