ArticleEuropean journal of clinical pharmacology2023
Factors associated with long-term benzodiazepine and Z-drug use across the lifespan and 5-year temporal trajectories among incident users: a Swedish nationwide register-based study.
Article in European journal of clinical pharmacology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Patient experiences of benzodiazepine tapering: a qualitative study of treatment in addiction care.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
- Benzodiazepine Prescription and Use in the Older Adults in Catalonia, Spain from 2018 to 2022: A Drug Utilization Study.Drugs & aging · 2026Article
- Trajectories Associated With the Use and Deprescription of Benzodiazepines and Z-Drugs in a Network of Geriatric Outpatient Clinics.Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety · 2026Article
- Association between initial benzodiazepine prescribing patterns and time to benzodiazepine discontinuation: A population-based retrospective cohort study.PLoS medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Experiences of long-term benzodiazepine use and addiction amid changes in guidelines for the prescription of narcotic drugs: a qualitative study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Socioeconomic status, antidepressant use, and return to work after disability due to common mental disorders.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2025Article
- Psychiatric and racial/ethnic differences in incident and long-term benzodiazepine use: A commercial healthcare claims study.Journal of psychiatric research · 2025Article
- Prevalence and Associated Factors of Benzodiazepine Use in Patients Attending a Community Mental Health Team in Scotland: A Cross-Sectional Survey.Clinical practice and epidemiology in mental health : CP & EMH · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
purposeDespite being discouraged by guidelines, long-term use of benzodiazepines and related Z-drugs (BZDR) remains frequent in the real-world. An improved understanding of factors associated with the transition from new to long-term BZDR use and of temporal BZDR use trajectories is needed. We aimed to assess the proportion of long-term BZDR use (> 6 months) in incident BZDR-recipients across the lifespan; identify 5-year BZDR use trajectories; and explore individual characteristics (demographic, socioeconomic and clinical) and prescribing-related factors (pharmacological properties of the initial BZDR, prescriber's healthcare level, and concurrent dispensing of other medications) associated with long-term BZDR use and distinct trajectories.
methodsOur nationwide register-based cohort included all BZDR-recipients in Sweden with first dispensation in 2007-2013. Trajectories of BZDR use days per year were built using group-based trajectory modelling. Cox regression and multinomial logistic regression were fitted to assess the predictors of long-term BZDR use and trajectories' membership.
resultsIn 930,465 incident BZDR-recipients, long-term use increased with age (20.7%, 41.0%, and 57.4% in 0-17, 18-64, and ≥ 65-year-olds, respectively). Four BZDR use trajectories emerged, labelled 'discontinued', 'decreasing', 'slow decreasing' and 'maintained'. The proportion of the 'discontinued' trajectory members was the largest in all ages, but reduced from 75.0% in the youths to 39.3% in the elderly, whereas the 'maintained' increased with age from 4.6% to 36.7%. Prescribing-related factors, in particular multiple BZDRs at initiation and concurrent dispensing of other medications, were associated with increased risks of long-term (vs short-term) BZDR use and developing other trajectories (vs 'discontinued') in all age groups.
conclusionsThe findings highlight the importance of raising awareness and providing support to prescribers to make evidence-based decisions on initiating and monitoring BZDR treatment across the lifespan.
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