Comparison 1. CBT (plus taper) versus taper.

Outcome or subgroup title	No. of studies	No. of participants	Statistical method	Effect size
1 Successful discontinuation of BZDs	11		Risk Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	Subtotals only
1.1 Post treatment	9	423	Risk Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	1.40 [1.05, 1.86]
1.2 3 month follow‐up	9	460	Risk Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	1.51 [1.15, 1.98]
1.3 6 month follow‐up	3	155	Risk Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	1.94 [0.88, 4.30]
1.4 11/12 month follow‐up	5	284	Risk Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	1.42 [0.89, 2.28]
1.5 15 month follow‐up	1	146	Risk Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	0.8 [0.49, 1.31]
1.6 Follow‐up ≥ 24 months	2	73	Risk Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	1.77 [0.98, 3.17]
2 Sensitivity analysis (Allocation concealment): successful discontinuation of BZDs	8		Risk Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	Subtotals only
2.1 Post treatment	8	370	Risk Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	1.50 [1.12, 2.02]
3 Sensitivity analysis (Blinding of assessor): successful discontinuation of BZDs	5		Risk Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	Subtotals only
3.1 Post treatment	4	159	Risk Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	1.08 [0.73, 1.59]
3.2 3 month follow‐up	4	103	Risk Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	1.60 [1.08, 2.36]
3.3 6 month follow‐up	2	94	Risk Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	1.98 [0.37, 10.47]
3.4 12 month follow‐up	1	62	Risk Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	0.70 [0.28, 1.79]
3.5 Follow‐up ≥ 24 months	1	21	Risk Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	2.73 [1.02, 7.32]
4 Reduce BZDs > 50%	4		Odds Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	Subtotals only
4.1 Post treatment	3	178	Odds Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	0.93 [0.11, 8.18]
4.2 3 month follow‐up	2	69	Odds Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	1.99 [0.47, 8.47]
4.3 6 month follow‐up	1	62	Odds Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	0.76 [0.28, 2.07]
4.4 12 month follow‐up	2	125	Odds Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	1.07 [0.14, 8.21]
5 Drop‐outs or lost to follow‐up	10		Risk Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	Subtotals only
5.1 From 0 to post treatment follow‐up	9	478	Risk Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	1.05 [0.66, 1.66]
5.2 From 0 to 3 month follow‐up	1	65	Risk Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	1.71 [0.16, 17.98]
5.3 From 0 to 6 month follow‐up	1	62	Risk Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	0.70 [0.17, 2.88]
5.4 From 0 to 12 month follow‐up	1	65	Risk Ratio (M‐H, Random, 95% CI)	2.57 [0.28, 23.44]