{ "abstract": "Background and Objective: Benzodiazepines (BZDs) remain among the most frequently prescribed psychotropic drugs in older adults, despite well-documented risks and guideline recommendations for short-term use. This study analyzed BZD prescribing trends among individuals aged ≥ 65 years in Catalonia, Spain, between 2018 and 2022.\n\nMethods: A retrospective drug utilization study was conducted using anonymized electronic health records from the SIDIAP (Information System for Research in Primary Care) database, covering approximately 80% of the Catalan population. All patients aged ≥ 65 years with at least one BZD prescription were included. Data were analyzed by sex, age group, onset of action, and duration of effect. Utilization was expressed in defined daily doses per 1000 inhabitants per day.\n\nResults: The study included 463,446 older adults (68.2% women; mean age 77.1 ± 8.0 years) with 1,731,408 BZD prescriptions. Rapid-onset BZDs accounted for 51.9% and intermediate-onset for 45.2% of prescriptions; slow-onset drugs were 2.95%. Intermediate-acting BZDs predominated by duration (47.6%), followed by short-acting BZDs (31.9%) and long-acting BZDs (20.4%). Women had higher use than men across all age groups (e.g., short-acting < 75 years: 233.6 vs 106.6 defined daily doses per 1000 inhabitants per day). Median treatment duration was longest for intermediate-acting BZDs (219 days, interquartile range 59–365) and intermediate-onset BZDs (221 days, interquartile range 59–365).\n\nConclusions: Benzodiazepine prescribing among Catalan older adults remains high, dominated by rapid-onset and short-acting to intermediate-acting agents, with widespread long-term use. These findings highlight the need for structured medication reviews, deprescribing programs, and prescriber education to reduce inappropriate BZD exposure in this population.\n\nSupplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s40266-026-01340-7.", "abstract_shown": true, "affiliations": [ "Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Clinical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine Novi Sad, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia", "Centro de Atención Primaria Bartomeu Fabrés Anglada, Gerencia Territorial Metropolitana Sud, Institut Català de la Salut, c/Riera de les Parets, 7, 08850 Gavà, Barcelona Spain", "Fundació Institut Universitari per a la Recerca a l’Atenció Primaria de Salut Jordi Gol I Gurina (IDIAPJGol), Gran Via Corts Catalanes, 587, ático, 08007 Barcelona, Spain", "Consorcio de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), avda Monforte de Lemos, 3-5, Pabellón 11, Planta 0, 28029 Madrid, Spain", "Grupo de Investigación en Evaluación de Tecnologías Sanitarias en Atención Primaria y Salud Mental (PRISMA), Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Santa Rosa 39-57, 08950 Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain", "Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain", "Departamento de Salud Pública, Historia de la Ciencia y Ginecología, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Crta. Nacional, N-332, s/n, 03550 Sant Joan d’Alacant, Spain", "CIRFF-Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca in Farmacoeconomia e Farmacoutilizzazione, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy", "Dipartimento di Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy", "HealthCare Datalab, Regione Campania, 80143 Naples, Italy", "Institut d’Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge, IDIBELL, Av. Gran Via de l’Hospitalet, 199-203-1a planta, 08908 L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona Spain" ], "article_type": "research article", "arxiv": null, "author_total": 7, "authors": [ { "affs": [ 0 ], "name": "Miliça Paut Kusturica" }, { "affs": [ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ], "name": "M. Teresa Peñarrubia-María" }, { "affs": [ 3, 6 ], "name": "Lucy Anne Parker" }, { "affs": [ 7, 8, 9 ], "name": "Sara Mucherino" }, { "affs": [ 7, 8, 9 ], "name": "Enrica Menditto" }, { "affs": [ 7, 8, 9 ], "name": "Valentina Orlando" }, { "affs": [ 3, 4, 10 ], "name": "Ignacio Aznar Lou", "orcid": "0000-0002-6780-5968" } ], "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9s6nkr9ay1td7.bib", "cited_by": 0, "doi": "10.1007/s40266-026-01340-7", "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13740098/", "id": "9s6nkr9ay1td7", "issns": [ "1170-229X", "1179-1969" ], "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s40266-026-01340-7", "language": "en", "licence": "CC-BY-NC-4.0", "licence_label": "CC BY-NC 4.0", "licence_source": "article", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/", "metadata_licence": null, "native_subjects": [ [ "heading", "Original Research Article" ], [ "openalex", "2717|Pharmaceutical Practices and Patient Outcomes" ] ], "openalex": "W7220838323", "pdf_url": "https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s40266-026-01340-7.pdf", "pmcid": "PMC13740098", "pmid": "42844552", "published": "2026-10-07", "publisher": null, "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9s6nkr9ay1td7.ris", "sources": [ { "first_seen": "2026-11-10T12:21:24Z", "native_id": "PMC13740098", "source": "pmc", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s40266-026-01340-7" } ], "subjects": [ { "field": "medicine", "origin": "openalex:2717|Pharmaceutical Practices and Patient Outcomes", "subfield": "general" } ], "title": "Benzodiazepine Prescription and Use in the Older Adults in Catalonia, Spain from 2018 to 2022: A Drug Utilization Study", "title_text": "Benzodiazepine Prescription and Use in the Older Adults in Catalonia, Spain from 2018 to 2022: A Drug Utilization Study", "type": "peer-reviewed", "updated_at": "2026-11-10T12:21:24Z", "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9s6nkr9ay1td7", "venue": "Drugs & Aging", "versions": [] }