A Norwegian registry study found greater sleep-medication dispensing in residential care, with benzodiazepines and Z-hypnotics comprising a small subgroup.
Separate the categories
Among 2,171 youths in residential care, 17% received sleep medication. Melatonin was recorded for 11%, alimemazine for 7%, and benzodiazepines or Z-hypnotics for 2%. Overall sleep-medication dispensing was higher than in the general youth population.
Dispensing and concomitance need definitions
The database did not show whether a child actually took the medicine or why it was prescribed. Concomitant psychotropic use meant dispensing during the same calendar year, not necessarily on the same day. Psychosocial burden and psychiatric illness may also differ between populations. The 17% headline figure must not become a benzodiazepine exposure estimate. For an individual review, identify the specific drug, administration dates, indication, and response before inferring simultaneous effects or inappropriate prescribing from annual registry categories.
Source paper
Original analysis of the supplied journal article, identified as PMC7310223.
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