Aim: To quantify and describe the population starting treatment with baclofen for alcohol dependence during the period 2007-2013 in France.
Methods: The French national health insurance (système national d'information inter-régimes de l'Assurance maladie [SNIIRAM]) and French hospital discharge (programme de médicalisation des systèmes d'information [PMSI]) databases were used to identify the population starting treatment with baclofen, determine the algorithm of baclofen use, define patient characteristics and their treatment.
Results: About 200,000 subjects initiated baclofen therapy between 2007 and 2013, for alcohol dependence in 52.0% of cases. In 2013, this population was predominantly male (62.3%), with a mean age of 50.1 years, the first prescriber was a general practitioner in 58.9% of cases, they continued their treatment 6 months after their initiation in 48.8% of cases and one half of these subjects consumed at least 57.0 mg of baclofen daily.
Conclusions: The use of baclofen for alcohol dependence increased considerably since 2008, with more than 34,000 new users and more than 9,000 general practitioners as first prescribers in 2013.
© 2015 Société Française de Pharmacologie et de Thérapeutique.