{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,19]],"date-time":"2026-10-19T14:45:32Z","timestamp":1792421132680,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,18]],"date-time":"2026-06-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1781740800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100014405","name":"Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["Womenmind"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Womenmind"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100014405","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosmedicine.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS Med"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Long-term benzodiazepine use has been associated with increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Preventing long-term use through safer prescribing practices has received little attention to date. We sought to better understand associations between initial prescription characteristics and duration of benzodiazepine use.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n                    <jats:title>Methods and findings<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This was a retrospective population-based cohort study of 1,820,808 adults in Ontario with incident benzodiazepine prescriptions between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2020, with follow-up to December 31, 2021. The primary exposure was duration of the index prescription (\u22647 days\u2014referent group, 8\u201314 days, 15\u201330 days, or &gt;30 days). Secondary exposures were: (a) duration of action of index benzodiazepine(s) prescription (short-acting, long-acting or both); (b) number of benzodiazepine dispensed on index (1 or 2+); and (c) mean daily dose of the index prescription in Diazepam Milligram Equivalents (DMEs). The primary outcome was time to benzodiazepine discontinuation in days. Multivariable models were adjusted for age, sex, anxiety, insomnia, and substance use disorders as well as other important comorbidities and socio-demographic characteristics. The median age at index was 53 years (Interquartile Range (IQR) 38\u201367), and 62.6% were women. The median time to discontinuation in women was 16 days (IQR: 6\u201329) while the median time to discontinuation in men was 19 days (IQR: 6\u201329). Lorazepam was the most commonly prescribed benzodiazepine on index (63.9%), followed by clonazepam (17.3%) and diazepam (5.8%). In multivariable Cox Proportional Hazards Models, longer index prescriptions were associated with a lower likelihood of benzodiazepine discontinuation (adjusted Hazard Ratio (aHR) 0.54 (95% Confidence Interval (CI) [0.54,0.54]) for 8\u201314 days; aHR 0.26 (95% CI [0.25,0.26] for 15\u201330 days and aHR 0.14 (95% CI [0.14,0.14]) for &gt;30 days, compared to \u22647 days, respectively). Being prescribed two or more benzodiazepines versus 1 was also associated with a reduced likelihood of discontinuation (aHR 0.59 (95% CI [0.57,0.61])), as was being prescribed long-acting benzodiazepines (aHR 0.80 (95% CI [0.80,0.80])) or a combination of short and long acting benzodiazepine (aHR 0.84 (95% CI [0.80,0.88])) versus short-acting benzodiazepines alone. Mean daily doses of &gt;5 to \u226410 DME and &gt;10 to \u226420 DME were associated with an increased likelihood of discontinuation (aHR 1.03 (95% CI [1.03,1.03]); aHR: 1.03 (95% CI [1.03,1.04])), whereas doses &gt;20 DME were associated with a reduced likelihood of discontinuation (aHR 0.98 (95% CI [0.97,0.98])) compared with \u22645 DME. Findings may be subject to bias from unmeasured confounding.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This large population-based cohort study found that prescribing shorter courses of benzodiazepines, use of a single benzodiazepine, use of a short-acting agent, were associated with reduced likelihood of long-term benzodiazepine use. Findings suggest that simple changes to prescribing practices could reduce prolonged benzodiazepine use and the morbidity and mortality associated with long-term use of these medications.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pmed.1005126","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,18]],"date-time":"2026-06-18T17:22:22Z","timestamp":1781803342000},"page":"e1005126","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pmed.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Association between initial benzodiazepine prescribing patterns and time to benzodiazepine discontinuation: A population-based retrospective cohort study"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"23","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9512-7407","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Nikki","family":"Bozinoff","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tanya S.","family":"Hauck","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5455-0073","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Robert A.","family":"Kleinman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2172-8802","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Matthew E.","family":"Sloan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Beth A.","family":"Sproule","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2736-9639","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Simone N.","family":"Vigod","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jennifer","family":"Wyman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1366-5063","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Priscila","family":"Pequeno","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1468-1965","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Tara","family":"Gomes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"pmed.1005126.ref001","unstructured":"SAMHSA. 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