ArticleEuropean journal of clinical pharmacology2026
Impact of policy measures targeting benzodiazepines and Benzodiazepine-related drugs in Lithuania: interrupted time series analysis.
Article in European journal of clinical pharmacology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Impact of policy measures targeting benzodiazepines and Benzodiazepine-related drugs in Lithuania: interrupted time series analysis.European journal of clinical pharmacology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposePrescribing recommendations, communication programmes, and mandatory electronic prescribing were implemented in Lithuania to promote responsible use of benzodiazepines and benzodiazepine-related drugs (BZRDs). We assessed the impact of policy measures on benzodiazepine/BZRD prescribing patterns in Lithuania.
methodsWe analysed utilisation of oral benzodiazepines/BZRDs in Lithuania from 2018 to 2024, using national prescription data and wholesale medicines data. Benzodiazepines/BZRDs included (1) anxiolytic benzodiazepines; (2) hypnotic benzodiazepines; and (3) BZRDs. The policy intervention period spanned from November 1, 2020, to July 1, 2021. We used ARIMA models to assess monthly incidence, prevalence, and long-term use prevalence (≥ 180 days) per 1,000 inhabitants. Besides, the numbers of defined daily doses (DDDs) prescribed and sold to pharmacies per 1,000 inhabitants were studied. We estimated baseline slopes, step changes after implementation, and changes in slopes after implementation.
resultsIn total, 717,590 patients received 6,974,059 prescriptions for benzodiazepines or BZRDs. Prior to implementing the policy measures, there were upward trends in incidence, prevalence, and long-term use prevalence across all classes. Following the implementation, monthly incidence stabilised and prevalence decelerated for anxiolytic benzodiazepines and BZRDs. The prevalence of hypnotic benzodiazepines showed a significant immediate reduction after implementation. Long-term use prevalence continued to increase for all benzodiazepine/BZRD classes after implementation of the policy. Before the policy measures were implemented, monthly DDDs sold to pharmacies were gradually declining for anxiolytic benzodiazepines, but were stable for other classes. In contrast, monthly DDDs prescribed were increasing across all classes. Following the policy measures, immediate reductions in DDDs sold to pharmacies were observed, without changes in slopes. The prescribed and sold DDDs converged after implementing the policy measures.
conclusionFrom a public health perspective, the policy measures implemented in 2020 and 2021 had only a limited impact on the prescribing patterns of benzodiazepines and BZRDs in Lithuania. They continued to be used long-term, highlighting the persistence of potentially irrational prescribing.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.