Concurrent use of alcohol and sedatives in Finnish general population

Abstract

Background: The epidemiology of independent use of sedatives or alcohol is well reported in previous research. However, the epidemiology of concurrent use of sedatives and alcohol is vastly understudied despite the unpredictable interactions associated with it. Objectives: Our aim was to study the prevalence of concurrent use of alcohol and sedatives and further examine the use of sedatives in some subgroups of people with alcohol use. Methods: A mailed questionnaire was sent to a randomly chosen representative sample of a Finnish population (n = 5000). The main outcome measure was the prevalence of the use of sedatives in five subgroups of people with alcohol use in the previous week. Results: Of the participants, 7.8% (142/1818) reported use of both alcohol and sedatives in the previous week. Among the people with sedative use, 67.0% (142/212) reported at least some alcohol use, and 9.9. % (21/212) reported high use of at least 21 units of alcohol in the previous 7 days. The prevalence of sedative use was highest among those who had used at least 21 units of alcohol in the previous 7 days (19.4%). Conclusion: The use of sedatives was especially common among those who reported having used large amounts of alcohol.