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Table 1 Characteristics of Incident and Continuing Benzodiazepine Cohorts, Stratified by Age

From: Prescription characteristics associated with drug overdose risk among adults prescribed benzodiazepines: a cohort study

Characteristic, n (%)

Benzodiazepine Use

Incident

Continuing

 < 65

N = 105,737a

65 + 

N = 385,951b

 < 65

N = 240,358c

65 + 

N = 508,230d

Sociodemographics

 Sex

  Male

42,092 (39.8)

119,263 (30.9)

93,756 (39.0)

147,147 (29.0)

  Female

63,645 (60.2)

266,688 (69.1)

146,602 (61.0)

361,083 (71.0)

 Age

    

   < 45

27,107 (25.6)

-

56,205 (23.4)

-

  45–64

78,630 (74.4)

-

184,153 (76.6)

-

  65–74

-

202,492 (52.5)

-

274,193 (54.0)

  75–84

-

122,367 (31.7)

-

156,586 (30.8)

  85 + 

-

61,092 (15.8)

-

77,451 (15.2)

 Racee

  Non-Hispanic White

75,898 (71.8)

336,567 (87.2)

188,167 (78.3)

446,672 (87.9)

  Non-Hispanic Black

17,067 (16.1)

18,941 (4.9)

28,135 (11.7)

23,455 (4.6)

  Hispanic

9,754 (9.2)

19,638 (5.1)

18,517 (7.7)

26,839 (5.3)

  Asian/Pacific Islander

1,270 (1.2)

7,496 (1.9)

2,195 (0.9)

7,282 (1.4)

  Other

1,748 (1.7)

3,309 (0.9)

3,344 (1.4)

3,982 (0.8)

 Low-income subsidyf

  No

18,372 (17.4)

299,003 (77.5)

41,594 (17.3)

362,658 (71.4)

  Yes

87,365 (82.6)

86,948 (22.5)

198,764 (82.7)

145,572 (28.6)

 Ruralityg

  Urban

90,107 (85.2)

336,949 (87.3)

202,623 (84.3)

436,403 (85.9)

  Rural

15,630 (14.8)

49,002 (12.7)

37,735 (15.7)

71,827 (14.1)

Clinical Characteristics

 Frailty

  Not frail

-

249,972 (64.8)

-

318,165 (62.6)

  Frail

-

135,979 (35.2)

-

190,065 (37.4)

 Elixhauser

  0–1

37,181 (35.2)

105,604 (27.4)

85,786 (35.7)

130,382 (25.7)

  2

18,076 (17.1)

67,376 (17.5)

44,260 (18.4)

93,588 (18.4)

  3

14,621 (13.8)

58,547 (15.2)

34,635 (14.4)

81,700 (16.1)

  4

10,732 (10.1)

45,316 (11.7)

25,061 (10.4)

62,874 (12.4)

  5

7,670 (7.3)

33,589 (8.7)

17,355 (7.2)

45,717 (9.0)

  6

5,391 (5.1)

23,783 (6.2)

11,637 (4.8)

31,835 (6.3)

  7

3,861 (3.7)

16,765 (4.3)

7,639 (3.2)

21,643 (4.3)

  8

2,677 (2.5)

11,934 (3.1)

5,036 (2.1)

14,684 (2.9)

  9 + 

5,528 (5.2)

23,037 (6.0)

8,949 (3.7)

25,807 (5.1)

Substance Use Disorder

31,593 (29.9)

28,509 (7.4)

73,948 (30.8)

47,401 (9.3)

Personality Disorder

2,851 (2.7)

1,091 (0.3)

7,424 (3.1)

2,415 (0.5)

Bipolar Disorder

15,034 (14.2)

6,826 (1.8)

43,626 (18.2)

16,190 (3.2)

Lithium use

2,690 (2.5)

941 (0.2)

7,728 (3.2)

2,080 (0.4)

BZD Characteristics

 Medication possession ratio

  < 0.5

-

-

105,109 (43.7)

322,688 (63.5)

  0.5–1

-

-

118,136 (49.2)

169,230 (33.3)

   > 1

-

-

17,113 (7.1)

16,312 (3.2)

 Index average daily dose, mg

  < 1

20,328 (19.2)

113,194 (29.3)

23,421 (9.7)

110,961 (21.8)

  1–1.99

40,980 (38.8)

167,657 (43.4)

60,222 (25.1)

197,115 (38.8)

  2 + 

44,429 (42.0)

105,100 (27.2)

156,715 (65.2)

200,154 (39.4)

 Index supply, days

  < 14

44,866 (42.4)

147,779 (38.3)

24,135 (10.0)

60,447 (11.9)

  14–30

56,981 (53.9)

204,690 (53.0)

198,259 (82.5)

369,013 (72.6)

  31 + 

3,890 (3.7)

33,482 (8.7)

17,964 (7.5)

78,770 (15.5)

Other Medication Use

 Antidepressant

  Never

45,680 (43.2)

226,769 (58.8)

79,125 (32.9)

241,650 (47.5)

  Former

10,550 (10.0)

26,533 (6.9)

25,973 (10.8)

42,380 (8.3)

  Current

49,507 (46.8)

132,649 (34.4)

135,260 (56.3)

224,200 (44.1)

 Antiepileptics

  Never

57,040 (53.9)

307,492 (79.7)

119,834 (49.9)

385,166 (75.8)

  Former

9,861 (9.3)

20,935 (5.4)

23,527 (9.8)

30,577 (6.0)

  Current

38,836 (36.7)

57,524 (14.9)

96,997 (40.4)

92,487 (18.2)

 Antipsychotics

  Never

78,103 (73.9)

353,526 (91.6)

158,759 (66.1)

448,824 (88.3)

  Former

5,110 (4.8)

8,738 (2.3)

15,097 (6.3)

15,689 (3.1)

  Current

22,524 (21.3)

23,687 (6.1)

66,502 (27.7)

43,717 (8.6)

 Opioids

  Never

49,397 (46.7)

240,380 (62.3)

93,089 (38.7)

286,793 (56.4)

  Former

19,544 (18.5)

68,000 (17.6)

45,933 (19.1)

107,692 (21.2)

  Current

36,796 (34.8)

77,571 (20.1)

101,336 (42.2)

113,745 (22.4)

 Z-drugs

  Never

95,512 (90.3)

358,797 (93.0)

208,111 (86.6)

463,760 (91.3)

  Former

3,146 (3.0)

11,041 (2.9)

9,254 (3.9)

19,174 (3.8)

  Current

7,079 (6.7)

16,113 (4.2)

22,993 (9.6)

25,296 (5.0)

  1. BZD, benzodiazepine; SD, standard deviation
  2. a1.0% had treated overdose event; 94.6% censored at 30d after index, 3.9% for loss of coverage, 0.5% for death
  3. b0.7% had treated overdose event; 93.2% censored at 30d after index, 3.4% for loss of coverage, 2.6% for death
  4. c0.7% had treated overdose event; 97.2% censored at 30d after index, 1.9% for loss of coverage, 0.2% for death
  5. d0.5% had treated overdose event; 97.1% censored at 30d after index, 1.7% for loss of coverage, 0.8% for death
  6. eDerived using the Research Triangle Institute race variable; race groups are mutually exclusive
  7. fConsidered present if a given beneficiary was enrolled or eligible in the Part D low-income subsidy for at least one month during the 6-month baseline period
  8. gDerived using beneficiary state and county codes and Rural–Urban Continuum Codes
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BMC Pharmacology and Toxicology

ISSN: 2050-6511

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