Tranquillizer use in middle-aged British men

Abstract

We have examined the use of tranquillizers by 7,735 middle-aged men currently enrolled in the British Regional Heart Study, a prospective study of cardiovascular disease in 24 towns throughout Great Britain. Tranquillizer use was reported by 620 men (8 per cent). There was a slightly greater prevalence of tranquillizer use in the older men and the non-manual workers. Men with physical disease diagnosed by their doctor or by objective measurements during the study were more likely to be using tranquillizers than men with no physical disease. This was most evident for ischaemic heart disease, however diagnosed, and for hypertension diagnosed by their doctors. There was an inverse relationship between drinking and tranquillizer usage: heavy drinkers had lower rates of usage. There was no association between tranquillizer use and smoking habits.This study indicates that tranquillizer use in these middle-aged men is little influenced by age, social class or smoking, but that there is a strong, positive association between tranquillizer use and the presence of doctor-diagnosed physical disease. While our data provide support for the suggestion that alcohol and tranquillizers may be used interchangeably by some individuals, this finding could also be an outcome of doctors' and patients' awareness of the undesirable effects of combining alcohol and tranquillizers.