{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T04:21:58Z","timestamp":1791174118655,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":65,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,23]],"date-time":"2022-09-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1663891200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Contrary to most European guidelines, benzodiazepine receptor agonists (BZRA) are often used continuously at a low dosage, being the most common form of long-term use. In Belgium, BZRA use is monitored by analyzing self-report data about medication use in the last 24 h. This method provides insufficient insight into the terms of use of these psychoactive drugs.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Aim<\/jats:title><jats:p>To describe trends in BZRA prescribing in Flanders, Belgium, between 2000 and 2019.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Design and setting<\/jats:title><jats:p>Population-based trend analysis and a case-control study for the year 2019 were done with data from a morbidity registry in general practice.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>Repeated cross-sectional and joinpoint regression analyses revealed trends in sex- and age-standardized prescription rates among adult patients (18+).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Overall, BZRA prescriptions increased. The highest overall increase was found among male patients 18\u201344 years old, with an average annual percentage change of 2.5 (95% CI: 0.9, 4.3). Among 65+ female patients, a decrease was found since 2006, with an annual percentage change of \u22120.7 (95% CI: \u22121.3, \u22120.1). In 2019, 12% of registered patients received minimally one prescription, long-term use was observed in 5%, back pain was the most common morbidity significantly associated with a rise in BZRA prescriptions, and zolpidem was the most prescribed BZRA (22%).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Despite some statistically significant decreasing trends, an overall increase in BZRA prescriptions was observed throughout the 19-year study period, especially among long-term users of 18\u201344 years and 65-plus. Zolpidem became the most prescribed BZRA and warrants more attention.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2022.1014734","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,23]],"date-time":"2022-09-23T13:41:20Z","timestamp":1663940480000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":18,"title":["Evolution of benzodiazepine receptor agonist prescriptions in general practice: A registry-based study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"10","author":[{"given":"Kristien","family":"Coteur","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pavlos","family":"Mamouris","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bert","family":"Vaes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marc","family":"Van Nuland","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Catharina","family":"Mathe\u00ef","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Birgitte","family":"Schoenmakers","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","author":"United","year":"2020","journal-title":"International Narcotics Control Board. 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