Trends in the association between prescribed and non-prescribed use of tranquillisers or
sedatives among adolescents in 22 European countries
Sammanfattning
AIMS - Tranquillisers and sedatives are valuable medicines with high misuse potential,
increasingly
used by adolescents without a doctor’s prescription. We examined the changing association
between lifetime non-prescribed use of tranquillisers or sedatives and their prescribed use in
European adolescents in 200-2011. DESIGN - Cross-sectional data from 199,231 16-year-old students
were collected through anonymous questionnaires administered in schools in 22 European
countries participating in the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD)
in 2003, 2007 and 2011. RESULTS - Logistic regression analyses showed a modest increase in
lifetime
non-prescribed use of tranquillisers or sedatives (adjusted OR [AOR] = 1.08, 95% CI: 1.06-1.11,
p < 0.001) and a decrease in prescribed use (AOR = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.87-0.91, p < 0.001) between
2003 and 2011. Adjusting for gender and survey year, any versus no prescribed use increased the
odds tenfold for non-prescribed use (AOR = 10.15, 99% CI: 9.60-10.74, p < 0.001). Adjusting also
for changes in cannabis use did not affect the strength of the association. Interactions of factors
with survey year showed that between 2003 and 2011, there was an increase of 38% in the odds
that tranquilliser or sedative misusers had not used these drugs also with a doctor’s prescription
(AOR = 1.38, 99% CI: 1.28-1.50, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION - The waning strength of the association
between prescribed and non-prescribed use of tranquillisers or sedatives among adolescents
may suggest changes both in the patterns of use and the channels of diversion and access to this
class of medication in Europe.