Abusive use of Zolpidem as a Result of COVID-19 and Perspectives of Continuity of the Problem in the Post-Pandemic Period

Wesley Dawison de Lima; Michael Douglas da Silva; Eurico de Souza Costa; Francisco Irochima Pinheiro; Eduardo Pereira de Azevedo; Ricardo Ney Cobucci; José Rodolfo Lopes de Paiva Cavalcanti; Fausto Pierdoná Guzen

doi:10.2174/1570159X21666230920123401

Abusive use of Zolpidem as a Result of COVID-19 and Perspectives of Continuity of the Problem in the Post-Pandemic Period

Curr Neuropharmacol. 2023 Sep 20. doi: 10.2174/1570159X21666230920123401. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Wesley Dawison de Lima¹, Michael Douglas da Silva¹, Eurico de Souza Costa², Francisco Irochima Pinheiro², Eduardo Pereira de Azevedo², Ricardo Ney Cobucci², José Rodolfo Lopes de Paiva Cavalcanti³, Fausto Pierdoná Guzen²

Affiliations

¹ Graduation in Medicine, Health Science Center, State University of Rio Grande do Norte (UERN), Mossoró-RN, Brazil.
² Posgraduate Program of Biotechnology, Health School - Potiguar University (UnP), Natal-RN, Brazil.
³ Postgraduate Program in Physiological Sciences, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, State University of Rio Grande do Norte (UERN), Mossoró-RN, Brazil.

PMID: 37811654
DOI: 10.2174/1570159X21666230920123401

Abstract

Zolpidem is a non-benzodiazepine hypnotic drug that works as a positive modulator of Gamma-Amino Butyric Acid-A (GABA-A) receptors, with high selectivity for α1 subunits. Given this selective binding, the drug has a strong hypnotic activity. Social isolation during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has contributed to increased rates of anxiety, depression, and insomnia. As a result, studies have pointed to a possible increase in the indiscriminate use of drugs with sedative effects, such as Zolpidem, during the pandemic. The aim of this work was to present prospective evidence that warns of the possibility of the abusive use of Zolpidem even after the pandemic. High rates of addiction to this drug have been reported around the world after the emergence of the coronavirus. Data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health and from Medicaid support the continuing growth in prescription and indiscriminate use of Zolpidem during the pandemic and afterward. Therefore, there is enough evidence to support the indiscriminate use of this drug since the beginning of the pandemic. Rates of indiscriminate use of sedatives may continue to increase in the post-pandemic period, especially if strict control measures are not taken by health authorities.

Keywords: (GABA-A) receptors; COVID-19; Zolpidem; drugs.; pandemics; substance-related disorders.