Impact of benzodiazepine use on the risk of occupational accidents.

Benzodiazepines (BZDs) are drugs commonly used for treating insomnia and anxiety. Although they are known to induce cognitive and psychomotor impairments, their effect on the risk of causing accidents at work remains understudied. The objective of this study is to estimate this risk by differentiati...

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Main Author: François-Olivier Baudot
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2024-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0302205&type=printable
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author François-Olivier Baudot
author_facet François-Olivier Baudot
author_sort François-Olivier Baudot
collection DOAJ
description Benzodiazepines (BZDs) are drugs commonly used for treating insomnia and anxiety. Although they are known to induce cognitive and psychomotor impairments, their effect on the risk of causing accidents at work remains understudied. The objective of this study is to estimate this risk by differentiating between the recommended use and overuse of these drugs (i.e., uninterrupted use for four months). The data come from the French National Health Data System, which provide a population composed of French people who had at least one work accident (WA) from 2017 to 2019 (approximately 2.5 million people). A linear probability model with two-way fixed effects is used to deal with time-constant heterogeneity and the time effect independent of individuals. The results show a reduction in the risk of WA after a short period of BZD use (one month) compared with no use at all, but the risk of WA increases when treatment exceeds the recommended duration. The intensity of use results in a greater risk of WAs: a 1% increase in BZD use (expressed as the amount reimbursed) leads to a 4.4% (p<0.001) increase in the monthly risk of WAs. Moreover, we see an increase in risk in the month following the treatment discontinuation (+3.6%, p<0.001), which could be due to rebounding and catch-up effects. Health professionals and BZD users should be made aware of the WA risk induced by the use of BZDs, particularly after prolonged use and after discontinuation of treatment. This study provides more evidence for the need to limit the duration of BZD treatment.
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spelling doaj.art-376bd68b813a49d89d751083d122138e2024-04-23T05:32:02ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032024-01-01194e030220510.1371/journal.pone.0302205Impact of benzodiazepine use on the risk of occupational accidents.François-Olivier BaudotBenzodiazepines (BZDs) are drugs commonly used for treating insomnia and anxiety. Although they are known to induce cognitive and psychomotor impairments, their effect on the risk of causing accidents at work remains understudied. The objective of this study is to estimate this risk by differentiating between the recommended use and overuse of these drugs (i.e., uninterrupted use for four months). The data come from the French National Health Data System, which provide a population composed of French people who had at least one work accident (WA) from 2017 to 2019 (approximately 2.5 million people). A linear probability model with two-way fixed effects is used to deal with time-constant heterogeneity and the time effect independent of individuals. The results show a reduction in the risk of WA after a short period of BZD use (one month) compared with no use at all, but the risk of WA increases when treatment exceeds the recommended duration. The intensity of use results in a greater risk of WAs: a 1% increase in BZD use (expressed as the amount reimbursed) leads to a 4.4% (p<0.001) increase in the monthly risk of WAs. Moreover, we see an increase in risk in the month following the treatment discontinuation (+3.6%, p<0.001), which could be due to rebounding and catch-up effects. Health professionals and BZD users should be made aware of the WA risk induced by the use of BZDs, particularly after prolonged use and after discontinuation of treatment. This study provides more evidence for the need to limit the duration of BZD treatment.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0302205&type=printable
spellingShingle François-Olivier Baudot
Impact of benzodiazepine use on the risk of occupational accidents.
PLoS ONE
title Impact of benzodiazepine use on the risk of occupational accidents.
title_full Impact of benzodiazepine use on the risk of occupational accidents.
title_fullStr Impact of benzodiazepine use on the risk of occupational accidents.
title_full_unstemmed Impact of benzodiazepine use on the risk of occupational accidents.
title_short Impact of benzodiazepine use on the risk of occupational accidents.
title_sort impact of benzodiazepine use on the risk of occupational accidents
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0302205&type=printable
work_keys_str_mv AT francoisolivierbaudot impactofbenzodiazepineuseontheriskofoccupationalaccidents