Demographic Characteristics of Benzodiazepine-involved
Emergency Department Visits
The
DAWN Report: Demographic Characteristics of Benzodiazepine-involved
ED Visits (PDF format)
Highlights:
- Benzodiazepines
are psychotherapeutic sedatives used to treat anxiety, insomnia, and
seizures. SAMHSA's DAWN found that benzodiazepines were involved in
100,784 drug abuse related emergency department visits in 2002 and were
the most frequently reported type of psychotherapeutic drug.
- From
1995 to 2002, drug abuse related emergency department visits involving
benzodiazepines increased 41%.
- Nearly
half of the drug abuse related emergency department visits involving
benzodiazepines were the result of suicide attempts.
- Suicide
related visits involving benzodiazepines have been stable since 1995,
but visits attributed to drug dependence and drug taking for psychic
effects have been increasing.
Data
on Other Specific Drugs
Other
Topics
Other
OAS Publications and Services
This Short
Report, The DAWN Report: Demographic
Characteristics of Benzodiazepine-involved ED Visits (PDF format),
is based on the Drug Abuse Warning
Network (DAWN), the primary source of national data on drug related
emergency department visits. DAWN is conducted by the
Office
of Applied Studies (OAS) in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration (SAMHSA).
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