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Evidence suggests benzodiazepine use is associated with risk for early death in adults (NEJM JW Gen Med Jun 1 2014 and BMJ 2014; 348:1996). In this retrospective cohort study, researchers used a large U.S. commercial healthcare database to address this issue.
From 2004 through 2013, 1.3 million patients initiated benzodiazepines; initiators were matched with control noninitiators according to a “high-dimensional” propensity score (based on >300 covariates). At 6 months after benzodiazepine initiation, no excess mortality was noted in initiators. However, at 12 and 48 months, mortality was significantly higher among initiators (4% and 5% higher at 1 and 4 years, respectively). Young benzodiazepine initiators (age, <65) were 9% more likely to …