Simultaneous Antidepressant and Benzodiazepine New Use and Subsequent Long-term Benzodiazepine Use in Adults With Depression

Simultaneous Antidepressant and Benzodiazepine New Use and Subsequent Long-term Benzodiazepine Use in Adults With Depression, United States, 2001-2014 – JAMA Internal Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: Benzodiazepines With Antidepressants May Spark Long-term Use – Medscape (free registration required) AND Antidepressants plus benzos: Is it worth the risk? – Pharmacy News (free)

In this large cohort, patients who were treated with benzodiazepine associated with antidepressants in the beginning of the treatment for depression didn’t seem to have a clinical benefit, and 12.3% of patients who began treatment with both agents had long-term (6-month) benzodiazepine use. Due to the observational nature of this study, it may be that these patients had more severe depression, but caution is advised nonetheless.