Call for action: Benzodiazepine prescription prevalence analysis shows off-label prescription in one in eleven citizens (2019)

OBJECTIVE: Benzodiazepines have a good safety profile. Nevertheless, off-label use of these drugs may increase the risk of falls, dependence, and memory loss. Off-label prescription use is not highly prevalent. Studies have not researched the factors that influence off-label prescription use. We aim to identify the prevalence of off-label use of benzodiazepines in Barcelona and explore sociodemographic factors that may be involved for professionals and patients.
METHOD: A cross-sectional study in Barcelona was carried out. Data from professionals were obtained from the Medical Official College of Barcelona. Patients' healthcare data were extracted from the electronic prescription system DataMart and from the Catalan Health System Observatory (catchment of 97% of the prescription system). Two multivariate analyses were performed to identify risk factors of off-label prescription use; one focused on the patients' characteristics and the other focused on professionals' characteristics.
RESULTS: In total, 9.7% of Barcelona's citizens used benzodiazepine prescriptions; 96.1% of them were off-label uses. The most common reason was long-term use (95.8%). Elderly patients were the most common demographic that was exposed to off-label use (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.04-1.05). Family doctors (B = 38.87, 95% CI 25.25-35.50) and psychiatrists (B = 16.93; 95% CI 11.50-22.35) were the largest groups of off-label prescribers.
CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of benzodiazepine off-label prescriptions in our environment is very high, especially when the length of the treatment is considered. Implementation of evidenced-based strategies to facilitate more effective prescription practices is required.