Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 5, 2026

High-Throughput Small Molecule Drug Screening For Age-Related Sleep Disorders Using Drosophila melanogaster
Published on: October 20, 2023
Discontinuation of long-term benzodiazepine use: 10-year follow-up
N A H de Gier1, W J M J Gorgels, P L B J Lucassen
1Department of Primary and Community Care, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Background:
Several interventions aiming at discontinuation of long-term benzodiazepine use have been proven effective in the short term. However, data on the persistence of discontinuation are lacking.
Objectives:
To assess 10-year follow-up status in patients who succeeded in stopping benzodiazepine use after a discontinuation letter from the patient's own GP. To identify determinants of successful discontinuation on the long term.
Methods:
Follow-up data of patients who participated in a large prospective, controlled stepped care intervention programme among long-term benzodiazepine users in primary care.
Results:
At 10-year follow-up, the percentage of benzodiazepine abstinence was 58.8%. Non-abstinent patients used lower doses of benzodiazepine. Being abstinent at 21 months after the intervention predicted abstinence at 10-year follow-up.
Conclusions:
Ten years after a minimal intervention to decrease long-term benzodiazepine use, the majority of patients who were able to discontinue benzodiazepine use initially, does not use benzodiazepines at 10-year follow-up. Patients who did not succeed in maintaining abstinence from benzodiazepines appear to use lower or average dosages.
Related Concept Videos
Anxiolytic Drugs: Benzodiazepines and Buspirone
Sedatives and Hypnotics Drugs: Benzodiazepines
Benzodiazepines work by enhancing the effects of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. They bind to the GABAA receptor, increasing its affinity for GABA, which opens chloride...
CNS Depressants: Barbiturates and Benzodiazepines
Anxiolytic Drugs: Overview
Primary Types of Anxiolytic Drugs
1. Benzodiazepines:
Benzodiazepines bind to the GABA-A receptor in the brain, enhancing GABA's interaction. This action reduces neurotransmission, effectively blocking anxiety-associated limbic circuitry.
Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age
Long-term Depression