TABLE 1.
Cohort Statistics
| BZD Rx + UDS + | BZD Rx + UDS− | BZD Rx − UDS + | BZD Rx − UDS − | |
| Variable | (n = 208) | (n = 464) | (n = 219) | (n = 2801) |
| Age, mean (SD) | 37.5 (10.8) | 35.5 (11.3) | 35.2 (10.7) | 31.3 (9.7) |
| Median (IQR) | 37 (28.5–46) | 33 (26–44) | 33 (27–42) | 29 (24–37) |
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 104 (50.0) | 234 (50.4) | 123 (56.2) | 1604 (57.3) |
| Female | 104 (50.0) | 230 (49.6) | 96 (43.8) | 1197 (42.7) |
| Income quintile | ||||
| Q1 (lowest) | 93 (44.7) | 195 (42.0) | 77 (35.2) | 1031 (36.8) |
| Q2 | 47 (22.6) | 98 (21.1) | 47 (21.5) | 649 (23.2) |
| Q3 | 29 (13.9) | 83 (17.9) | 34 (15.5) | 497 (17.7) |
| Q4 | 23 (11.1) | 54 (11.6) | 30 (13.7) | 337 (12.0) |
| Q5 (highest) | 16 (7.7) | 33 (7.1) | 31 (14.2) | 283 (10.1) |
| Health system use | ||||
| Number of hospitalizations mean (SD) | 0.30 (0.76) | 0.24 (0.79) | 0.25 (0.81) | 0.14 (0.49) |
| Median (IQR) | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) |
| Number of psychiatric hospitalizations mean (SD) | 0.27 (0.75) | 0.22 (0.64) | 0.16 (0.49) | 0.07 (0.36) |
| Median (IQR) | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) |
| Number of GP/FP visits mean (SD) | 24.1 (21.6) | 19.6 (18.5) | 19.5 (22.5) | 13.2 (14.0) |
| Median (IQR) | 19 (10–32) | 15 (8–25) | 15 (7–23) | 9 (4–17) |
| Number of psych visits mean (SD) | 3.1 (6.4) | 2.1 (4.6) | 1.8 (4.6) | 1.0 (3.7) |
| Median (IQR) | 0 (0–3) | 0 (0–2) | 0 (0–2) | 0 (0–0) |
| Number of ED visits mean (SD) | 5.6 (7.8) | 3.9 (7.4) | 3.4 (5.4) | 2.3 (3.8) |
| Median (IQR) | 3 (1–8) | 2 (0–4.5) | 2 (0–4) | 1 (0–3) |
| Peak dose mean (SD) | 67.0 (31.3) | 68.6 (30.5) | 63.6 (29.8) | 63.7 (27.1) |
| Median (IQR) | 67.8 (42.1–91.4) | 67.3 (46.6–89.4) | 65.0 (37.5–84.8) | 62.3 (41.9–83.8) |
| Charlson comorbities | ||||
| No hospitalizations | 123 (59.1) | 288 (62.1) | 143 (65.3) | 2037 (72.7) |
| 0 comorbidities | 66 (31.7) | 136 (29.3) | 63 (28.8) | 685 (24.5) |
| 1 comorbidity | 13 (6.3) | 27 (5.8) | 9 (4.1) | 55 (2.0) |
| 2+ comorbidities | 6 (2.9) | 13 (2.8) | 4 (1.8) | 24 (0.9) |
| Diagnosis of mood/anxiety disorder | 168 (80.8) | 325 (70.0) | 133 (60.7) | 993 (35.5) |
BZD, benzodiazepine; CI, confidence interval; ED, emergency department; FP, family physician; GP, general practitioner; IQR, interquartile range; ODB, Ontario Drug Benefit; OR, odds ratio; SD, standard deviation; UDS, urine drug screening data.