title: Determinants of Quality of Life in High-Dose Benzodiazepine Misusers.
abstract: Benzodiazepines (BZDs) are among the most widely prescribed drugs in developed countries, but they have a high potential for tolerance, dependence and misuse. High-dose BZD misuse represents an emerging addiction phenomenon, but data on quality of life (QoL) in high-dose BZD misusers are scant. This study aimed to explore QoL in high-dose BZD misuse. We recruited 267 high-dose BZD misusers, compared the QoL scores in those who took BZD only to poly-drug misusers, and explored the role of demographic and clinical covariates through multivariable analysis. Our data confirmed worse QoL in high-dose BZD misusers and showed that (a) QoL scores were not negatively influenced by the misuse of alcohol or other drugs, or by coexisting psychiatric disorders; (b) demographic variables turned out to be the most significant predictors of QoL scores; (c) BZD intake significantly and negatively influenced QoL. Physical and psychological dimensions of QoL are significantly lower in high-dose BZD misusers with no significant effect of comorbidities. Our data suggest that the main reason for poor QoL in these patients is high-dose BZD intake per se. QoL should be considered among outcome measures in these patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Piazzale Scuro 10, Verona 37134, Italy. stefano.tamburin@univr.it.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tamburin
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Piazzale Scuro 10, Verona 37134, Italy. angela.federicovr@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Federico
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Addiction Unit, Verona University Hospital, Piazzale Scuro 10, Verona 37134, Italy. marco.faccini@ospedaleuniverona.it.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Faccini
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Addiction Unit, Verona University Hospital, Piazzale Scuro 10, Verona 37134, Italy. rebecca.casari@ospedaleuniverona.it.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Casari
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Addiction Unit, Verona University Hospital, Piazzale Scuro 10, Verona 37134, Italy. laura.morbioli@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Morbioli
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Addiction Unit, Verona University Hospital, Piazzale Scuro 10, Verona 37134, Italy. valentina.sartore@studenti.univr.it.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sartore
authors.affiliation: Alcohol Use Disorders Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Catholic University of Rome, Rome 00168, Italy. antonio.mirijello@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mirijello
authors.affiliation: Alcohol Use Disorders Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Catholic University of Rome, Rome 00168, Italy. giovanni.addolorato@unicatt.it.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Addolorato
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Addiction Unit, Verona University Hospital, Piazzale Scuro 10, Verona 37134, Italy. fabio.lugoboni@ospedaleuniverona.it.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lugoboni
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001569:Benzodiazepines / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*
chemical_list: D001569:Benzodiazepines
keywords: 12-Items General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12); Short Form-36 (SF-36); addiction; benzodiazepine (BZD); drug misuse; multivariable analysis; patient-centered outcomes; quality of life (QoL)