[Anxiety level and addiction to first-time prescriptions of anxiolytics: a psychometric study].

CONTEXT: The anxiety epidemic and its corollary, the widespread prescription of anxiolytics, present a public health problem in view of the risk of addiction to these drugs.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the level of anxiety and addiction in the borderline population at risk of addiction.

DESIGN

The study analyzed a series of patients in the third month of their first prescription for anxiolytics. It used two validated scales: the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HAD), and a French scale measuring addiction (the "Echelle Cognitive d'Attachement aux Benzodiazepines" or ECAB).

RESULT: 83% of patients were still anxious at the third month of treatment. 23% had become addicted.

DISCUSSION: There is a contradiction between the prolonged prescription and use of anxiolytics, which are associated with a risk of addiction, and professional guidelines that recommend short treatment for outpatients using these drugs for the first time.