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Benzodiazepines can be addictive and induce dependence even at low doses, with 23% becoming addicted within 3 months of use. Benzodiazepine addiction is considered a public health problem. Approximately 68.5% of prescriptions of benzodiazepines originate from local health centers, with psychiatry and general hospitals accounting for 10% each.
In addition, benzodiazepines have reinforcing properties in some individuals and thus are considered to be addictive drugs, especially in individuals that have a "drug-seeking" behavior; further, a physical dependence can develop after a few weeks or months of use. [13]
Taken alone, they rarely cause severe complications in overdose; [168] statistics in England showed that benzodiazepines were responsible for 3.8% of all deaths by poisoning from a single drug. [21] However, combining these drugs with alcohol , opiates or tricyclic antidepressants markedly raises the toxicity.
Benzodiazepines can induce a severe benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome as well as drug seeking behavior.. Sedative-hypnotics such as alcohol, benzodiazepines, and the barbiturates are known for the severe physical dependence that they are capable of inducing which can result in severe withdrawal effects. [13]
Notably, benzodiazepines addiction often occurs as a result of polydrug abuse, most commonly with opioids. [24] Medically supervised detoxification remains the first-line treatment for benzodiazepines addiction. [54] The use of other medication to aid withdrawal has not been well-developed. [55]
It's well known that drugs like cocaine and heroin come with extreme health risks. But knowing how likely you are to become addicted is a murky science. The most 'addictive' drugs probably aren't ...
However, they are much less toxic than their predecessors, barbiturates, and death rarely results when a benzodiazepine is the only drug taken; however, when combined with other central nervous system depressants such as alcohol and opiates, the potential for toxicity and fatal overdose increases. Benzodiazepines are commonly misused and taken ...
Active metabolites are produced when a person's body metabolizes the drug into compounds that share a similar pharmacological profile to the parent compound and thus are relevant when calculating how long the pharmacological effects of a drug will last. Long-acting benzodiazepines with long-acting active metabolites, such as diazepam and ...