Het langdurig gebruik van benzodiazepinen

- Benzodiazepines are the most prescribed drugs in the Netherlands. There is scarcely an indication for long-term benzodiazepine use.

- Long-term use may lead to dependency and is associated with an increased risk of accidents/falls and cognitive function impairment.

- Therefore national and international guidelines advocate a conservative prescription policy, especially with respect to long-term prescription.

- It appears that these guidelines are not followed in practice. A standard sized general practice in the Netherlands contains, on average, 75 long-term benzodiazepine users.

- There appear to be both patient and GP related factors which influence the maintenance of this long-term use of benzodiazepines.