Demographic Characteristics of Benzodiazepine-involved Emergency Department Visits

The DAWN Report:  Demographic Characteristics of Benzodiazepine-involved ED Visits (PDF format)

Highlights:

• Benzodiazepines are psychotherapeutic sedatives used to treat anxiety, insomnia, and seizures. SAMHSA's DAWN found that benzodiazepines were involved in 100,784 drug abuse related emergency department visits in 2002 and were the most frequently reported type of psychotherapeutic drug.

• From 1995 to 2002, drug abuse related emergency department visits involving benzodiazepines increased 41%.

• Nearly half of the drug abuse related emergency department visits involving benzodiazepines were the result of suicide attempts.

• Suicide related visits involving benzodiazepines have been stable since 1995, but visits attributed to drug dependence and drug taking for psychic effects have been increasing. 

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This Short Report, The DAWN Report:  Demographic Characteristics of Benzodiazepine-involved ED Visits (PDF format), is based on the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), the primary source of national data on drug related emergency department visits.  DAWN is conducted by the Office of Applied Studies (OAS) in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).  

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This page was last updated on August 13, 2004.

SAMHSA, an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services, is the Federal Government's lead agency for improving the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment, and mental health services in the United States.

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