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The number of drug-abuse related visits to hospital emergency rooms (ERs)
involving benzodiazepine medications exceeded 100,000 in 2002, a 41
percent increase since 1995, according to the Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Administration’s Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN). Nearly half of the emergency department
(ED) visits involving benzodiazapines -- 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 2002 the highest rates of benzodiazepines-involved visits
to emergency rooms were among adults age 26-44. Between
1995 and 2002, the rates of drug-abuse related hospital emergency
department visits involving benzodiazapines 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 1995 to 2002. 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 emergency
rooms because of drug abuse involving benzodiazepines. While suicide-related ER visits involving
benzodiazepines remained stable between 1995 – 2002, 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 www.oas.SAMHSA.gov.
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The number of drug-abuse related visits to hospital emergency rooms (ERs) involving benzodiazepine medications exceeded 100,000 in 2002, a 41 percent increase since 1995, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration's Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN). Nearly half of the emergency department (ED) visits involving benzodiazapines -- which include such psychotherapeutic sedatives as Valium, Xanax, Klonopin, and Ativan -- were connected with suicidal ideation, gestures or attempts.
Some of the Basic Facts
