Table 3.
Long-term Benzodiazepine Treatment (6+ Months) in Children and Adolescents by Potential Benzodiazepine Indication
| Potential indication, diagnosis prior 30 days | Multiple potential indications allowed | Restricted to youth with one potential indicationa | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n (% of cohort) | % long-term BZD treatment (95% CI) | n (% of cohort) | % long-term BZD treatment (95% CI) | |
| Children (n=24,504) | ||||
| Epilepsy | 3,072 (13) | 18.3 (17.0, 19.6) | 1,939 (8) | 18.4 (16.8, 20.1) |
| Bipolar; schizophrenia; conduct disorder | 1,029 (4) | 11.6 (9.8, 13.7) | 392 (2) | 9.3 (6.9, 12.6) |
| Sleep disorder | 652 (3) | 15.7 (13.2, 18.7) | 284 (1) | 15.3 (11.8, 19.8) |
| Depression | 874 (4) | 8.7 (7.0, 10.8) | 230 (1) | 10.2 (6.9, 15.0) |
| Anxiety disorder | 4,218 (17) | 7.1 (6.4, 7.9) | 2,654 (11) | 5.5 (4.7, 6.4) |
| Movement disorder, muscle spasm | 2,395 (10) | 9.4 (8.3, 10.6) | 487 (2) | 12.0 (9.5, 15.2) |
| Musculoskeletal condition | 6,196 (25) | 2.4 (2.1, 2.8) | 2,873 (12) | 0.8 (0.5, 1.2) |
| Injury | 3,152 (13) | 2.3 (1.8, 2.9) | 1,094 (4) | 1.2 (0.7, 2.0) |
| Any potential indication | 15,204 (62) | 7.3 (6.9, 7.7) | – | – |
| No potential indication | 9,300 (38) | 4.6 (4.2, 5.1) | – | – |
| Adolescents (n=61,046) | ||||
| Epilepsy | 2,300 (4) | 10.8 (9.7, 12.2) | 1,157 (2) | 10.0 (8.4, 11.8) |
| Bipolar; schizophrenia; conduct disorder | 3,851 (6) | 13.8 (12.7, 14.9) | 1,286 (2) | 14.6 (12.9, 16.7) |
| Sleep disorder | 2,028 (3) | 11.2 (9.9, 12.6) | 651 (1) | 10.3 (8.2, 12.8) |
| Depression | 11,718 (19) | 11.1 (10.5, 11.6) | 4,077 (7) | 10.5 (9.6, 11.5) |
| Anxiety disorder | 19,374 (32) | 9.0 (8.6, 9.4) | 10,074 (17) | 7.3 (6.8, 7.8) |
| Movement disorder, muscle spasm | 2,680 (4) | 7.3 (6.4, 8.4) | 431 (1) | 12.0 (9.4, 15.4) |
| Musculoskeletal condition | 13,445 (22) | 3.2 (2.9, 3.5) | 5,500 (9) | 1.9 (1.5, 2.3) |
| Injury | 7,555 (12) | 3.2 (2.9, 3.7) | 1,894 (3) | 1.7 (1.2, 2.4) |
| Any potential indication | 41,783 (68) | 7.4 (7.2, 7.7) | – | – |
| No potential indication | 19,263 (32) | 4.7 (4.4, 5.0) | – | – |
a
For example, 2,654 children (11% of children) had only a recent anxiety diagnosis and had no diagnosis for another potential indication (epilepsy, sleep disorder, bipolar/schizophrenia/conduct disorder, depression, muscle spasm/movement disorder, injury, musculoskeletal condition, other/uncommon) diagnosis in the prior 30 days; ‘Other, uncommon’ category is not displayed due to low numbers, but is an included category in restricted groups.
BZD, benzodiazepine.