The Epidemiology of Benzodiazepine Misuse a Systematic Review
Drug and Alcohol Dependence 200 (2019) 95–114 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Drug and Alcohol Dependence journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/drugalcdep Review The epidemiology of benzodiazepine misuse: A systematic review T ⁎ Victoria R. Votawa, , Rachel Geyerb, Maya M. Rieselbachc, R. Kathryn McHughb,d a Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, MSC 03-2220, Albuquerque, NM, USA b Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Belmont, MA, USA c Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Belmont, MA, USA d Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, 401 Park Drive, Boston, MA, USA ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Keywords: Background: Benzodiazepine misuse is a growing public health problem, with increases in benzodiazepine-re- Benzodiazepines lated overdose deaths and emergency room visits in recent years. However, relatively little attention has been Sedatives paid to this emergent problem. We systematically reviewed epidemiological studies on benzodiazepine misuse to Tranquilizers identify key findings, limitations, and future directions for research. Prescription drug misuse Methods: PubMed and PsychINFO databases were searched through February 2019 for peer-reviewed publica- Nonmedical prescription drug use tions on benzodiazepine misuse (e.g., use without a prescription; at a higher frequency or dose than prescribed). Eligibility criteria included human studies that focused on the prevalence, trends, correlates, motives, patterns, sources, and consequences of benzodiazepine misuse. Results: The search identified 1970 publications, and 351 articles were eligible for data extraction and inclusion. In 2017, benzodiazepines and other tranquilizers were the third most commonly misused illicit or prescription drug in the U.S. (approximately 2.2% of the population).
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