ArticleJournal of general internal medicine2016
Benzodiazepines are Prescribed More Frequently to Patients Already at Risk for Benzodiazepine-Related Adverse Events in Primary Care.
Article in Journal of general internal medicine, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Application of a diazepam milligram equivalency algorithm to assess benzodiazepine dose intensity in Rhode Island in 2018.Journal of managed care & specialty pharmacy · 2022Pooled it
- The incidence and clinical variables associated with new and new persistent benzodiazepine use after admission to internal medicine: a retrospective study.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Spotlight commentary: Addressing the persistent problem of benzodiazepine overuse, time for clinical, educational and AI-driven reform.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2026Article
- Depression and Anxiety Among Patients with COPD: A Nationwide Study from Lithuania.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2026Observational
- Benzodiazepines and Opioid co-use Among Rural People Who Use Drugs: Findings From the Rural Opioid Initiative.Substance use & addiction journal · 2025Article
- Association between prescription patterns and primary care clinic closures in South Korea: A longitudinal retrospective cohort study.BMC primary care · 2025Article
- Mental health literacy among primary care providers in Hungary: a vignette-based survey.Annals of general psychiatry · 2025Article
- Identification of Benzodiazepine Use Based on Dried Blood Stains Analysis.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Current Therapeutic Strategies for the Management of Benzodiazepine (BZD) Withdrawal Syndrome: A Review.Current topics in medicinal chemistry · 2024Review
- Enhancing Sleep Quality: Assessing the Efficacy of a Fixed Combination of Linden, Hawthorn, Vitamin B1, and Melatonin.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- The Functional and Psychosocial Consequences of COPD.Respiratory care · 2023Article
- Racial Inequality in Receipt of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder.The New England journal of medicine · 2023Article
- Quality of Life Assessment in Patients Using Benzodiazepines during the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Community Pharmacy Using EuroQol 5D-3L.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Predicting benzodiazepine prescriptions: A proof-of-concept machine learning approach.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- A Need for Benzodiazepine Deprescribing in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cohort Study.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Sedative-Hypnotic Activity of the Water Extracts ofClocks & sleep · 2022Article
- The impact of CARA mandates on nurse practitioner controlled substance prescribing in Oregon: a cohort study.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2022Article
- Benzodiazepine high-doses: The need for an accurate definition.International journal of methods in psychiatric research · 2021Review
- Primary care physician volume and quality of care for older adults with dementia: a retrospective cohort study.BMC family practice · 2021Article
- Benzodiazepine and Z-Drug Use in Switzerland: Prevalence, Prescription Patterns and Association with Adverse Healthcare Outcomes.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBenzodiazepine use is associated with adverse drug events and higher mortality. Known risk factors for benzodiazepine-related adverse events include lung disease, substance use, and vulnerability to fracture.
objectiveTo determine whether benzodiazepine prescribing is associated with risk factors for adverse outcomes.
designLongitudinal cohort study between July 1, 2011, and June 30, 2012.
participantsPatients who visited hospital- and community-based practices in a primary care practice-based research network. MAIN MEASURES: Odds ratio of having a target medical diagnosis for patients who received standard and high-dose benzodiazepine prescriptions; rates per 100 patients for outpatient and emergency department visits and hospitalizations. KEY
resultsAmong 65,912 patients, clinicians prescribed at least one benzodiazepine to 15 % (9821). Of benzodiazepine recipients, 5 % received high doses. Compared to non-recipients, benzodiazepine recipients were more likely to have diagnoses of depression (OR, 2.7; 95 % CI, 2.6-2.9), substance abuse (OR, 2.2; 95 % CI, 1.9-2.5), tobacco use (OR, 1.7; 95 % CI, 1.5-1.8), osteoporosis (OR, 1.6; 95 % CI, 1.5-1.7), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR, 1.6; 95 % CI, 1.5-1.7), alcohol abuse (OR, 1.5; 95 % CI, 1.3-1.7), sleep apnea (OR, 1.5; 95 % CI, 1.3-1.6), and asthma (OR, 1.5; 95 % CI, 1.4-1.5). Compared to low-dose benzodiazepine recipients, high-dose benzodiazepine recipients were even more likely to have certain medical diagnoses: substance abuse (OR, 7.5; 95 % CI, 5.5-10.1), alcohol abuse (OR, 3.2; 95 % CI, 2.2-4.5), tobacco use (OR, 2.7; 95 % CI, 2.1-3.5), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR, 1.5; 95 % CI, 1.2-1.9). Benzodiazepine recipients had more primary care visits per 100 patients (408 vs. 323), specialist outpatient visits (815 vs. 578), emergency department visits (47 vs. 29), and hospitalizations (26 vs. 15; p < .001 for all comparisons).
conclusionsClinicians prescribed benzodiazepines and high-dose benzodiazepines more frequently to patients at higher risk for benzodiazepine-related adverse events. Benzodiazepine prescribing was associated with increased healthcare utilization.
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