Benzodiazepine Use among Patients with Schizophrenia in Korea: Analysis of Database of Health Insurance Review Agency / 신경정신의학

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to examine the pattern of benzodiazepine use in a representative sample of patients with schizophrenia in Korea. METHOD: Data generated by the Health Insurance Review Agency of Korea was used to examine the frequency of benzodiazepine use. Demographic and geographic factors, hospital types in which patients received prescriptions, health insurance coverage, and the number of concomitant antipsychotics associated with benzodiazepine use were explored by multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Among the 183427 patients with schizophrenia, the frequency of benzodiazepine use was 67.5% (n=122859). Use of benzodiazepines was highly associated with female patients treated in hospitals located in Gyeonggi, Gyeongsang, and Gangwon provinces, medicaid patients, patients treated in mental hospitals and private psychiatric clinics, and patients using concomitant antipsychotic agents. CONCLUSION: The study demonstrated that benzodiazepine use was highly prevalent among patients with schizophrenia. Long-term use of benzodiazepine may be at higher risk of neurocognitive side effects and risk of mortality. Therefore, patients with schizophrenia taking benzodiazepine concomitantly should be closely monitored for benefits and risks of benzodiazepine use. For the medicaid patients, policy change is urgently needed in order for patients to receive equal quality of treatment with that of non-medicaid patents.