The Problem of Benzodiazepine Use and Its Extent in the Driver Population: A Population-Based Registry Study.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Herrera-Gomez F
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5933078 | biostudies-literature | 2018
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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The Problem of Benzodiazepine Use and Its Extent in the Driver Population: A Population-Based Registry Study.
Herrera-Gómez Francisco F Gutierrez-Abejón Eduardo E Criado-Espegel Paloma P Álvarez F Javier FJ
Frontiers in pharmacology 20180426
<b>Background:</b> Benzodiazepines are driving-impairing medicines (DIM). This study presents current consumption of dispensed benzodiazepines in the Spanish general population, with a focus in pattern of use and concomitant medicines consumed with. <b>Methods:</b> A population-based registry study was carried out to assess the year-2016 granted benzodiazepines dispensation in Castile and León. Weighting was performed to obtain the adjusted benzodiazepine consumption for licensed drivers accordi ...[more]
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Project description:ObjectiveTo evaluate the association between use of benzodiazepines and incident dementia.DesignProspective, population based study.SettingPAQUID study, France.Participants1063 men and women (mean age 78.2 years) who were free of dementia and did not start taking benzodiazepines until at least the third year of follow-up.Main outcome measuresIncident dementia, confirmed by a neurologist.ResultsDuring a 15 year follow-up, 253 incident cases of dementia were confirmed. New use of benzodiazepines was associated with an increased risk of dementia (multivariable adjusted hazard ratio 1.60, 95% confidence interval 1.08 to 2.38). Sensitivity analysis considering the existence of depressive symptoms showed a similar association (hazard ratio 1.62, 1.08 to 2.43). A secondary analysis pooled cohorts of participants who started benzodiazepines during follow-up and evaluated the association with incident dementia. The pooled hazard ratio across the five cohorts of new benzodiazepine users was 1.46 (1.10 to 1.94). Results of a complementary nested case-control study showed that ever use of benzodiazepines was associated with an approximately 50% increase in the risk of dementia (adjusted odds ratio 1.55, 1.24 to 1.95) compared with never users. The results were similar in past users (odds ratio 1.56, 1.23 to 1.98) and recent users (1.48, 0.83 to 2.63) but reached significance only for past users.ConclusionsIn this prospective population based study, new use of benzodiazepines was associated with increased risk of dementia. The result was robust in pooled analyses across cohorts of new users of benzodiazepines throughout the study and in a complementary case-control study. Considering the extent to which benzodiazepines are prescribed and the number of potential adverse effects of this drug class in the general population, indiscriminate widespread use should be cautioned against.
| S-EPMC3460255 | biostudies-literature
Project description:OBJECTIVE:To assess the use of driving-impairing medicines (DIM) in the general population with special reference to length of use and concomitant use. DESIGN:Population-based registry study. SETTING:The year 2015 granted medicines consumption data recorded in the Castile and León (Spain) medicine dispensation registry was consulted. PARTICIPANTS:Medicines and DIM consumers from a Spanish population (Castile and León: 2.4?million inhabitants). EXPOSURE:Medicines and DIM consumption. Patterns of use by age and gender based on the length of use (acute: 1-7 days, subacute: 8-29 days and chronic use: ?30 days) were of interest. Estimations regarding the distribution of licensed drivers by age and gender were employed to determine the patterns of use of DIM. RESULTS:DIM were consumed by 34.4% (95% CI 34.3% to 34.5%) of the general population in 2015, more commonly with regularity (chronic use: 22.5% vs acute use: 5.3%) and more frequently by the elderly. On average, 2.3 DIM per person were dispensed, particularly to chronic users (2.8 DIM per person). Age and gender distribution differences were observed between the Castile and León medicine dispensation registry data and the drivers' license census data. Of all DIM dispensed, 83.8% were in the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical code group nervous system medicines (N), which were prescribed to 29.2% of the population. CONCLUSIONS:The use of DIM was frequent in the general population. Chronic use was common, but acute and subacute use should also be considered. This finding highlights the need to make patients, health professionals, health providers, medicine regulatory agencies and policy-makers at large aware of the role DIM play in traffic safety.
| S-EPMC5719315 | biostudies-literature
Project description:OBJECTIVES:To investigate the association between benzodiazepine (BZD) use and the risk of chronic-onset poststroke pneumonia. DESIGN:Population-based propensity-matched retrospective cohort study. SETTING:Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database. PARTICIPANTS:Patients newly diagnosed with stroke between 2000 and 2012 were identified and, after propensity score matching, 7516 patients were enrolled. Among these, 3758 patients received BZDs after stroke while 3758 did not. OUTCOME MEASURES:HRs for developing pneumonia over 1?month after stroke according to BZD use were assessed using Cox proportional hazards regression models. Analyses according to cumulative defined daily doses (cDDDs) of BZDs and stratification for age and sex were also performed. RESULTS:During a mean follow-up time of 4.4 years, 1027 patients in the BZD cohort and 478 patients in the non-BZD cohort developed pneumonia over 1?month after stroke. Patients using BZDs after stroke had a higher pneumonia risk than did those not using BZDs (52.2vs32.6 per 1000 person-years, adjusted HR (aHR)=2.21, 95% CI (CI)=1.97 to 2.48, p<0.001). Analyses based on cumulative BZD dose revealed that all BZD user subgroups were associated with a higher risk of pneumonia. The aHRs for patients taking 1-90, 91-365 and >365?cDDDs of BZDs were 2.28 (95% CI=2.01 to 2.58; p<0.001), 2.09 (95% CI=1.77 to 2.47; p<0.001) and 2.08 (95% CI=1.72 to 2.52; p<0.001), respectively. The significant association between BZD use and increased pneumonia risk persisted even after stratifying subgroups by age and sex. CONCLUSIONS:BZD use is associated with an increased risk of chronic-onset poststroke pneumonia.
| S-EPMC6347861 | biostudies-literature
Project description:OBJECTIVE:The objective of this study is to characterise concurrent use of benzodiazepine receptor modulators and opioids among prescription opioid users in Alberta in 2017. DESIGN:A population based retrospective study. SETTING:Alberta, Canada, in the year 2017. PARTICIPANTS:All individuals in Alberta, Canada, with at least one dispensation record from a community pharmacy for an opioid in the year 2017. EXPOSURE:Concurrent use of a benzodiazepine receptor modulator and opioid, defined as overlap of supply for both drugs for at least 1 day. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:Prevalence of concurrency was estimated among subgroups of patient characteristics that were considered clinically relevant or associated with inappropriate medication use. RESULTS:Among the 547 709 Albertans who were dispensed opioid prescriptions in 2017, 132 156 (24%) also received prescriptions for benzodiazepine receptor modulators. There were 96 581 (17.6%) prescription opioid users who concurrently used benzodiazepine receptor modulators with an average of 98 days (SD=114, 95% CI 97 to 99) of total cumulative concurrency and a median of 37 days (IQR 10 to 171). The average longest duration of consecutive days of concurrency was 45 (SD=60, 95% CI 44.6 to 45.4) with a median of 24 days (IQR 8 to 59). Concurrency was more prevalent in females, patients using an average daily oral morphine equivalent >90 mg, opioid dependence therapy patients, chronic opioid users, patients utilising a high number of unique providers, lower median household incomes and those older than 65 (p value<0.001 for all comparisons). CONCLUSIONS:Concurrent prescribing of opioids and benzodiazepine receptor modulators is common in Alberta despite the ongoing guidance of many clinical resources. Older patients, those taking higher doses of opioids, and for longer durations may be at particular risk of adverse outcomes and may be worthy of closer follow-up for assessment for dose tapering or discontinuations. As well, those with higher healthcare utilisation (seeking multiple providers) should also be closely monitored. Continued surveillance of concurrent use of these medications is warranted to ensure that safe drug use recommendations are being followed by health providers.
| S-EPMC6731882 | biostudies-other
Project description:PurposeStudies have reported mixed results on the association between benzodiazepine use and mortality. Here, we investigated whether benzodiazepine use is associated with a higher risk of 5-year all-cause mortality, and examined the association between benzodiazepine use and 5-year disease-specific mortality.Materials and methodsIn this population-based cohort study, a nationally representative sample cohort in South Korea was examined. In 2010, benzodiazepine users were defined as individuals prescribed benzodiazepine continuously over 30 days for regular administration, and all other subjects were included in the control group. The primary endpoint was 5-year all-cause mortality, evaluated from 2011 to 2015. Propensity score (PS) matching and time-dependent Cox regression were performed for statistical analysis, which included benzodiazepine use during 2011-2015 as a time-dependent variable.ResultsA total of 822414 adult individuals were included in the final analysis, and the all-cause 5-year mortality was recorded in 20991 individuals (2.7%). The benzodiazepine group included 30837 patients and the control group comprised 791377 patients. After PS matching, 61672 individuals (30836 in each group) were included in the final analysis. After PS matching, the 5-year all-cause mortality in the benzodiazepine group was 10.0% (3082/30836), whereas that in the control group was 9.4% (2893/30836). In time-dependent Cox regression analysis of the PS-matched cohort, the benzodiazepine group showed 1.15-fold higher 5-year all-cause mortality (hazard ratio: 1.15, 95% confidence interval: 1.09-1.22; p<0.001) compared to the control group.ConclusionBenzodiazepine use was associated with increased 5-year all-cause mortality in the South Korean adult population. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings.
| S-EPMC8149930 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ImportanceIncreased use of benzodiazepines has resulted in increasing rates of misuse and adverse effects associated with these drugs. Little is known about the initial exposure and source of benzodiazepines among those who use them persistently.ObjectiveTo examine the frequency of use and persistent use of benzodiazepines among patients undergoing major and minor surgical procedures.Design, setting, and participantsThis cohort study included 2 509 599 adult patients who underwent 1 of 11 common surgical procedures in the United States from 2009 to 2017 and were recorded in the MarketScan database. The rates of perioperative and persistent benzodiazepine use were examined in benzodiazepine-naive patients. Data analysis was conducted from July to November 2020.Main outcomes and measuresReceipt of a perioperative benzodiazepine prescription and persistent use (ie, fill of a second prescription 90-180 days after surgery) among those who received a benzodiazepine perioperatively.ResultsAmong 2 509 599 included patients, the mean (SD) age was 54.4 (15.3) years, and 1 596 137 (63.6%) were women. Perioperative benzodiazepine use was noted in 63 931 patients (2.6%). The median (interquartile range) benzodiazepine supply was 10 (5-23) days. Among benzodiazepine-naive patients prescribed a perioperative benzodiazepine, the rate of persistent benzodiazepine use was 19.5% (95% CI, 19.2%-19.8%). During the 90 to 180-day period after surgery, 7013 of 12 468 patients (56.2%) received 1 prescription for benzodiazepines while 5455 (43.8%) received 2 or more prescriptions. Among patients prescribed a benzodiazepine, persistent use was more common in Medicaid recipients (vs patients with commercial insurance: adjusted rate ratio [aRR], 1.29; 95% CI, 1.03-1.62), patients 70 years or older (vs those aged 40-49 years: aRR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.05-1.23), in women (vs men: aRR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.06-1.15), in patients with more medical comorbidities (eg, Elixhauser comorbidity score ≥3 vs 0: aRR, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.04-1.19), and in those with diagnoses of anxiety, depression, insomnia or substance use disorder (eg, with vs without anxiety: aRR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.37-1.50).Conclusions and relevanceIn this study, a relatively small percentage of surgical patients were prescribed benzodiazepines in the perioperative period; however, 1 in 5 of these patients went on to persistent benzodiazepine use.
| S-EPMC8176328 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundConcerns were raised about pneumonia development from benzodiazepines (BZDs) and Z-drugs, but direct evidence is limited, conflicting and without examining the highly susceptible patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) nor specifying the risk for different drug utilizations. This study aimed to investigate whether use of BZDs and Z-drugs was each associated with an increased risk of pneumonia in a CKD population.MethodsWe performed a nested case-control study of 36,880 CKD patients analyzing the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database between 01/1/2000 and 12/31/2011. Among the study cohort, we identified 4,533 cases of pneumonia based on validated disease codes, chest x-ray examination, and prescriptions of respiratory antibiotics, and randomly selected 16,388 controls from risk sets, matched by sex, age, and number of CKD-related hospitalizations. All prescription filling records of BZDs and Z-drugs in the year before the event/index date were analyzed for cases and controls. Conditional logistic regressions were performed to estimate the odds ratios (ORs).ResultsCurrent use of BZDs was associated with a 1.31-fold (95% CI, 1.18-1.26) increased risk of pneumonia compared to nonuse, but not for recent and past use. The risk from current BZD use was confined to new initiation (adjusted OR, 2.47; 95% CI, 2.02-3.03) or use for ≤ 30 days, and elevated to 2.88-fold (95% CI, 1.87-4.42) with parenteral administration. New initiation and current short-term use of Z-drugs was associated with a 2.94-fold (95% CI, 1.65-5.26) and 1.75-fold (95% CI, 1.13-2.72) increased risk of pneumonia, respectively. The findings were robust to adoption of a case-crossover study that analyzed cases only.ConclusionsUse of BZRAs is associated with an increased risk of pneumonia in CKD patients, especially for patients newly initiating BZDs or Z-drugs or those injected with BZDs. Physicians should exercise cautions for signs of pneumonia when prescribing BZDs or Z-drugs to CKD patients.
| S-EPMC5503235 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectivesDespite the widespread use of prescription benzodiazepines, there are few studies examining trends and patterns of benzodiazepine-related toxicity. We describe the epidemiology of benzodiazepine-related toxicity in Ontario, Canada.MethodsWe conducted a population-based, cross-sectional study of Ontario residents who had an emergency department visit or hospitalization for benzodiazepine-related toxicity between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2020. We reported annual crude and age-standardized rates of benzodiazepine-related toxicity overall, by age, and by sex. In each year, we characterized the history of benzodiazepine and opioid prescribing among people who experienced benzodiazepine-related toxicity, and reported the percentage of encounters with opioid, alcohol, or stimulant co-involvement.ResultsBetween 2013 and 2020, there were 32,674 benzodiazepine-related toxicity encounters among 25,979 Ontarians. During this period, the crude rate of benzodiazepine-related toxicity declined overall, from 28.0 to 26.1 per 100,000 population (age-standardized rate: 27.8 to 26.4 per 100,000), but increased among young adults aged 19 to 24 (39.9 to 66.6 per 100,000 population). Moreover, by 2020, the percentage of encounters associated with active benzodiazepine prescriptions had declined to 48.9%, while the percentage of encounters that had opioid, stimulant, or alcohol co-involvement rose to 28.8%.ConclusionBenzodiazepine-related toxicity has declined in Ontario overall, but has increased among youth and young adults. Furthermore, there is growing co-involvement of opioids, stimulants, and alcohol, which may reflect the recent emergence of benzodiazepines in the unregulated drug supply. Multifaceted public health initiatives comprising harm reduction, mental health supports, and promotion of appropriate prescribing are needed to reduce benzodiazepine-related harm.
| S-EPMC10267543 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Data from prescription databases are increasingly being used to study associations between maternal medications used in pregnancy and congenital anomalies. We therefore investigated the extent to which prescriptions reflect the actual use of medication during pregnancy, and whether medicines used during pregnancy are taken according to the prescribed dosage and duration.We performed a cross-sectional study in a population-based congenital anomaly register (EUROCAT Northern Netherlands). We included 202 women who had at least one prescription during their pregnancy and who gave birth between 2009 and 2011. Compliance with the prescribed medication was verified by telephone interview. We calculated the compliance rates for several medication groups by dividing the number of mothers who confirmed they had taken the medication by the total number to whom it had been prescribed. Compliance was positive if the mother confirmed she took the medication, even if she only took one of several prescriptions from the same medication group. For each prescription taken, we also determined whether her use conformed to the prescribed dosage and duration.During the first trimester, the compliance rates ranged from 0.84 (for chronic diseases) to 0.92 (for pregnancy-related symptoms). Most of the medications actually taken were used at the prescribed dosage or lower. More than half of the medications actually taken were used for the duration prescribed or shorter.Prescription records are generally a relatively reliable source of data for research into associations between medication use in pregnancy and congenital anomalies compared with other data sources. Pharmacy records of medication use in pregnancy might represent an overestimation, which should be taken into account. However, our results show that, except for 'corticosteroids, dermatological preparations'; 'ear, eye, nose and throat preparations'; and 'anxiolytics, hypnotics and sedatives', this overestimation generally seems minimal.
| S-EPMC4513216 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundCancer is a major cause of death in children worldwide, and the recorded incidence tends to increase with time. Internationally comparable data on childhood cancer incidence in the past two decades are scarce. This study aimed to provide internationally comparable local data on the incidence of childhood cancer to promote research of causes and implementation of childhood cancer control.MethodsThis population-based registry study, devised by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in collaboration with the International Association of Cancer Registries, collected data on all malignancies and non-malignant neoplasms of the CNS diagnosed before age 20 years in populations covered by high-quality cancer registries with complete data for 2001-10. Incidence rates per million person-years for the 0-14 years and 0-19 years age groups were age-adjusted using the world standard population to provide age-standardised incidence rates (WSRs), using the age-specific incidence rates (ASR) for individual age groups (0-4 years, 5-9 years, 10-14 years, and 15-19 years). All rates were reported for 19 geographical areas or ethnicities by sex, age group, and cancer type. The regional WSRs for children aged 0-14 years were compared with comparable data obtained in the 1980s.FindingsOf 532 invited cancer registries, 153 registries from 62 countries, departments, and territories met quality standards, and contributed data for the entire decade of 2001-10. 385?509 incident cases in children aged 0-19 years occurring in 2·64 billion person-years were included. The overall WSR was 140·6 per million person-years in children aged 0-14 years (based on 284?649 cases), and the most common cancers were leukaemia (WSR 46·4), followed by CNS tumours (WSR 28·2), and lymphomas (WSR 15·2). In children aged 15-19 years (based on 100?860 cases), the ASR was 185·3 per million person-years, the most common being lymphomas (ASR 41·8) and the group of epithelial tumours and melanoma (ASR 39·5). Incidence varied considerably between and within the described regions, and by cancer type, sex, age, and racial and ethnic group. Since the 1980s, the global WSR of registered cancers in children aged 0-14 years has increased from 124·0 (95% CI 123·3-124·7) to 140·6 (140·1-141·1) per million person-years.InterpretationThis unique global source of childhood cancer incidence will be used for aetiological research and to inform public health policy, potentially contributing towards attaining several targets of the Sustainable Development Goals. The observed geographical, racial and ethnic, age, sex, and temporal variations require constant monitoring and research.FundingInternational Agency for Research on Cancer and the Union for International Cancer Control.
| S-EPMC5461370 | biostudies-literature