WASHINGTON -- The number of drug-abuse related visits to hospital emergency rooms (ERs) involving benzodiazepine medications

exceeded 100,000 in , a 41 percent increase since , according to the

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN). 

 

Nearly half of the emergency department (ED) visits involving

benzodiazepines -- which include such psychotherapeutic sedatives as Valium,

Xanax, Klonopin, and Ativan -- were connected with suicidal ideation, gestures

or attempts.

   

A new DAWN report "Demographic Characteristics of Benzodiazepine-Involved ED Visits," released today, shows that in the highest rates of

benzodiazepines-involved visits to emergency rooms were among adults age 26-

44.  Between and , the rates of drug-abuse related hospital emergency

department visits involving benzodiazepines rose for young adults and adults

age 45 and older.  The most dramatic jump in abuse came among 18-19 year olds,

where the rate tripled: from under 20 per 100,000 population to nearly 60.  In

comparison, patients ages 20-25 experienced a 21 percent increase from to

.   Those aged 45-54 also showed a marked increase in abuse, from just

over 30 per 100,000 population to 55 per 100,000 population.

   

"The abuse of anti-anxiety medications is a serious and growing public

health problem," SAMHSA Administrator Charles Curie noted.  "Benzodiazepines

are some of our most useful and most widely prescribed medications, and are

wonders of modern medicine for patients with anxiety, insomnia, or seizures,

who are under the care of physicians.  But as these medicines become more

sophisticated and more widely present in the nation's medicine cabinets, the

danger of abuse has increased.  SAMHSA is working to provide treatment

services for those who abuse benzodiazepines, and prevention activities that

will educate the public about the dangers of abusing prescription

medications."

   

Men are now as likely as women to go to ERs because of drug

abuse involving benzodiazepines.  While suicide-related ER visits involving

benzodiazepines remained stable between - , visits attributed to drug

dependence and drug-taking for psychic effects increased.  Most drug-abuse

related ER visits involving benzodiazepines resulted in hospital admission,

DAWN found.

   

DAWN measures mentions of specific illicit, prescription and over-the-

counter drugs that are linked to drug abuse in visits to hospital emergency

departments.  The report is available on line at http://www.oas.SAMHSA.gov.

 

SAMHSA, a public health agency within the U.S. Department of Health and

Human Services, is the lead federal agency for improving accountability,

quality and effectiveness of the nation's substance abuse prevention,

addictions treatment and mental health services.

 

Source:  Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration