Increasing Benzodiazepine Prescriptions and Overdose Mortality in the United States, 1996–2013

Datos Bibliográficos

ID11019762
AutoresMarcus A Bachhuber (0000-0002-5610-8382, Marcus A. Bachhuber, Chinazo O. Cunningham, and Joanna L. Starrels are with Division of General Internal Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY. Sean Hennessy is with Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Center for Pharmacoepidemiology Research and Training, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.), Sean Hennessy (0000-0003-4726-9413, Marcus A. Bachhuber, Chinazo O. Cunningham, and Joanna L. Starrels are with Division of General Internal Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY. Sean Hennessy is with Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Center for Pharmacoepidemiology Research and Training, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.), Chinazo O Cunningham (0000-0002-7930-313X, Marcus A. Bachhuber, Chinazo O. Cunningham, and Joanna L. Starrels are with Division of General Internal Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY. Sean Hennessy is with Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Center for Pharmacoepidemiology Research and Training, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.), Joanna L Starrels (0000-0002-1865-1966, Marcus A. Bachhuber, Chinazo O. Cunningham, and Joanna L. Starrels are with Division of General Internal Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY. Sean Hennessy is with Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Center for Pharmacoepidemiology Research and Training, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.)
Año2016
Volumen106
Número4
Páginas686-688
Fecha de publicación2016-04-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAmerican Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0090-0036 • E-ISSN: 1541-0048
EditorialAmerican Public Health Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2105/ajph.2016.303061
PMID26890165
OpenAlexW2281412879
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas31
Referencias citadas7

Objectives. To describe trends in benzodiazepine prescriptions and overdose mortality involving benzodiazepines among US adults. Methods. We examined data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and multiple-cause-of-death data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Results. Between 1996 and 2013, the percentage of adults filling a benzodiazepine prescription increased from 4.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.8%, 4.5%) to 5.6% (95% CI = 5.2%, 6.1%), with an annual percent change of 2.5% (95% CI = 2.1%, 3.0%). The quantity of benzodiazepines filled increased from 1.1 (95% CI = 0.9, 1.2) to 3.6 (95% CI = 3.0, 4.2) kilogram lorazepam equivalents per 100 000 adults (annual percent change = 9.0%; 95% CI = 7.6%, 10.3%). The overdose death rate increased from 0.58 (95% CI = 0.55, 0.62) to 3.07 (95% CI = 2.99, 3.14) per 100 000 adults, with a plateau seen after 2010. Conclusions. Benzodiazepine prescriptions and overdose mortality have increased considerably. Fatal overdoses involving benzodiazepines have plateaued overall; however, no evidence of decreases was found in any group. Interventions to reduce the use of benzodiazepines or improve their safety are needed

Anesthesia · Benzodiazepine · Confidence interval · Drug overdose · Lorazepam · Medical prescription · Mortality rate · Poison control · Psychiatry · Psychological intervention · Emergency Medicine · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Opioid Use Disorder Treatment · Pain Management and Opioid Use · Pharmacology · Sleep and related disorders · Pediatrics