The frequency of anxiety and depression in purchasers of over-the-counter sleep aids

Aim To find out whether individuals treating themselves with OTC sleep aids suffered symptoms of anxiety and depression, and whether they were willing to accept onward referral. Design Questionnaire survey. Subjects and setting 456 community pharmacy customers in North East Wales, including all purchasers of OTC sleep aids in 13 pharmacies; a comparison group was drawn from a subset of customers purchasing other products. Results Most pharmacy customers were willing to be surveyed anonymously about psychological symptoms and would accept referral for medical help if necessary. Purchasers of sleep aids, estimated to be 2.3% of total customers, were more likely to report significant depression (16% with a Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale > 10) than controls (6%, P=0.004) and less likely to be currently taking antidepressants. Conclusion Our results are consistent with epidemiological evidence of substantial anxiety and depression in the community, and suggest that community pharmacies can provide a useful venue to screen for these disorders. There appears to be little justification for specifically targeting sleep aid purchasers in this regard.