Table 3.
Patient Characteristics by Benzodiazepine Dose
| Characteristic | High dose* (n = 481) |
Standard dose (n = 9340) |
Odds ratio (95 % CI) |
P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (± SD) | ||||
| Patient age, years | 51 (13) | 55 (15) | 0.81 (0.77–0.86)† | <0.001 |
| Number of medications | 2.04 (1.64) | 1.82 (1.47) | 1.09 (1.04–1.15) | <0.001 |
| N (%) | ||||
| Patient gender | <0.001 | |||
| Men | 179 (37) | 2520 (27) | Referent | |
| Women | 302 (63) | 6820 (73) | 0.62 (0.52–0.75) | |
| Patient race/ethnicity‡ | 0.28 | |||
| White | 367 (76) | 7240 (78) | Referent | |
| Black | 29 (6) | 658 (7) | 0.87 (0.59–1.28) | |
| Hispanic | 45 (9) | 670 (7) | 1.33 (0.96–1.82) | |
| Asian | 5 (1) | 117 (1) | 0.84 (0.34–2.08) | |
| Other | 1 (0) | 70 (1) | 0.28 (0.04–2.04) | |
| Unknown | 34 (7) | 585 (6) | 1.15 (0.80–1.65) | |
| Language | 0.39 | |||
| English | 452 (94) | 8751 (94) | Referent | |
| Spanish | 22 (5) | 353 (4) | 1.21 (0.78–1.88) | |
| Other | 5 (1) | 148 (2) | 0.65 (0.27–1.60) | |
| Unknown | 2 (0) | 88 (1) | 0.44 (0.11–1.79) | |
| Insurance | <0.001 | |||
| Private | 220 (46) | 5622 (30) | Referent | |
| Medicare | 154 (32) | 2887 (31) | 1.36 (1.10–1.68) | |
| Medicaid | 100 (21) | 716 (8) | 3.57 (2.78–4.58) | |
| None/other | 7 (1) | 115 (1) | 1.56 (0.72–3.38) | |
| Marital Status | <0.001 | |||
| Married | 260 (43) | 4925 (53) | Referent | |
| Single | 191 (40) | 2763 (30) | 1.65 (1.35–2.02) | |
| Divorced/separated | 55 (11) | 893 (10) | 1.47 (1.08–2.00) | |
| Widowed | 17 (4) | 552 (6) | 0.74 (0.45–1.22) | |
| Unknown | 12 (2) | 207 (2) | 1.39 (0.76–2.52) | |
| Education | <0.001 | |||
| Completed post-secondary | 192 (40) | 5186 (56) | Referent | |
| Some post-secondary | 121 (25) | 1648 (18) | 1.98 (1.57–2.51) | |
| Completed high school/GED | 96 (20) | 1585 (17) | 1.64 (1.27–2.10) | |
| Some high school | 36 (7) | 255 (3) | 3.81 (2.61–5.56) | |
| 8th grade or less | 7 (1) | 209 (2) | 0.91 (0.42–1.95) | |
| Unknown | 29 (6) | 457 (5) | 1.71 (1.15–2.56) | |
| Diagnoses and other prescriptions§ | ||||
| Alcohol abuse | 39 (8) | 253 (3) | 3.17 (2.23–4.50) | <0.001 |
| Antidepressant | 251 (52) | 4094 (44) | 1.40 (1.16–1.68) | <0.001 |
| Anxiety | 228 (47) | 3575 (38) | 1.45 (1.21–1.75) | <0.001 |
| Asthma | 110 (23) | 1678 (18) | 1.35 (1.09–1.69) | 0.007 |
| COPD | 117 (24) | 1610 (17) | 1.54 (1.24–1.91) | <0.001 |
| CVD | 99 (21) | 2031 (22) | 0.93 (0.74–1.17) | 0.55 |
| Depression | 201 (42) | 2876 (31) | 1.61 (1.34–1.94) | <0.001 |
| Diabetes | 70 (15) | 1180 (13) | 1.18 (0.91–1.53) | 0.22 |
| Hypertension | 201 (42) | 3932 (42) | 0.99 (0.82–1.19) | 0.89 |
| Insomnia | 38 (8) | 777 (8) | 0.95 (0.67–1.33) | 0.75 |
| Obesity | 110 (23) | 1554 (17) | 1.49 (1.19–1.85) | <0.001 |
| Osteoporosis | 38 (8) | 1081 (12) | 0.66 (0.47–0.92) | 0.013 |
| Sleep apnea | 45 (9) | 685 (7) | 1.30 (0.95–1.79) | 0.099 |
| Substance abuse | 64 (13) | 188 (2) | 7.47 (5.53–10.09) | <0.001 |
| Tobacco use | 82 (17) | 656 (7) | 2.72 (2.12–3.50) | <0.001 |
COPD chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; CVD cardiovascular disease
*We defined high-dose benzodiazepine prescribing as a dose of ≥30 mg per day of diazepam or equivalent
†The OR for patient age is per decade
‡The OR for whites vs. non-whites receiving a high benzodiazepine dose was 0.96 (95 % CI, 0.75–1.23)
§The referent for odds ratios for diagnoses and other prescriptions is patients who did not have that diagnosis or prescription