Clusters of personality traits and psychological symptoms associated with later benzodiazepine prescriptions in the general population: The HUNT Cohort Study

Abstract Objective The aim of this population-based study was to identify factors associated with later benzodiazepine prescriptions, including clusters of personality traits, self-esteem characteristics, sleep difficulties, depression and anxiety symptoms. Methods A 13 year historical cohort study (n = 58,967) was carried out and baseline measures of self-reported depression and anxiety symptoms, sleep difficulties, self-esteem and personality traits were obtained from the second wave of the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT 2, 1995–1997), Norway. Data on benzodiazepine prescriptions were collected from the Norwegian Prescription Database (NorPD, 2004–2008) for each case in the cohort. Results and conclusions We found that a combined high extraversion and high neuroticism personality score at baseline was associated with increased benzodiazepine prescription rates. Further, sleep difficulties, low self-esteem and high depression and anxiety scores were also linked to later prescriptions of benzodiazepines, in particular chronic and high dose benzodiazepine prescriptions patterns. The findings are discussed in relation to prescription practice and policy.