[Benzodiazepine use and misuse in France]

Benzodiazepine use remains high in France in 2015, especially among the elders. However, encouraging trend is observed regarding hypnotic benzodiazepines initiation: between 2008 and 2015, incident use of hypnotics, including that of Z-drugs, decreased while incident use of anxiolytics remained stable. Most of new benzodiazepine users (86 %) had treatment duration that complies with guidelines. Owing to the high number of user initiating a treatment each year and associated risks, the remaining 14 % of long-term users is of concern. Roughly half of benzodiazepine users presented with comorbidities and concurrent medications increasing the risk of adverse drug reactions, especially central nervous system depressant effects.