Work-Related Stressors and Increased Risk of Benzodiazepine Long-Term Use: Findings From the CONSTANCES Population-Based Cohort.

Abstract

<i>Objectives.</i> To examine whether stressful job exposure to the public could be associated with having long-term benzodiazepine use.<i>Methods.</i> From the participants included between 2012 and 2016 in the French population-based CONSTANCES cohort, 13 934 men and 19 261 women declared a daily job exposure to the public and rated the frequency of stressful exposure. We examined benzodiazepine long-term use by using drug reimbursement administrative registries. Logistic regressions provided odds ratios (ORs) of benzodiazepine long-term use, with stratification for gender and adjustment for age, education, and area deprivation index. Occupational grade, job strain, depression, self-rated health, and alcohol use disorder were additional stratification variables.<i>Results.</i> Benzodiazepine long-term use was positively associated with stressful exposure to the public ("often or always" vs "rarely or never") in men (OR = 2.2; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.8, 2.8) and women (OR = 1.6; 95% CI = 1.4, 1.9), with dose-dependent relationships (<i>P</i> trends < .001). Adjustments and analyses in subgroups without other individual or environmental vulnerability factors led to similar results.<i>Conclusions.</i> Stressful job exposure to the public increases the risk of benzodiazepine long-term use. Prevention programs aiming at reducing the burden of benzodiazepine long-term use would benefit in targeting this specific population.