Comparison of psychotropic drug intake in two populations in West Germany. Results from the Munich Blood Pressure Study 1980/81 and the Luebeck Blood Pressure Study 1984.

Psychotropic drug intake was assessed in participants aged 30-69 years of two identically designed studies (cross-sectional studies based on random samples), the Munich Blood Pressure Study (MBS I 1980/81) and the Luebeck Blood Pressure Study (LBS 1984). A similar increase of drug intake with age and a preponderance of women among drug users were found in both study samples. On the basis of the total drug consumption, which was not substantially different in the two population samples, it is argued that the statistically significantly lower prevalence rate for benzodiazepine use found in the LBS, compared with the findings of the MBS I, suggests a real decline over time and cannot be merely explained by possible regional differences in prescription behavior. This finding is of importance within the context of the ongoing discussion on increasing dependence on benzodiazepine drugs.