# Real-world assessment of benzodiazepine and Z-drug use and associated safety events in adolescents and young adults: a self-controlled case series study - URL: https://alisanburak.com/en/wcp-2026-posterler/so166 - Language: en - Last updated: not specified - Page title: Real-world assessment of benzodiazepine and Z-drug use and associated safety events in adolescents and young adults: a self-controlled case series study | WCP 2026 Summary > Among young people aged 12 to 25 years in Hong Kong who initiated benzodiazepine receptor agonists, treatment periods are associated with increased risks of em… This page was translated automatically from Turkish. [Read the original](https://alisanburak.com/wcp-2026-posterler/so166) This page is an AI-assisted Turkish summary of the study presented at the 26th World Congress of Psychiatry. The study belongs to the presenting authors; please refer to the original source when citing it. SO166 Brief Oral Poster PresentationPsychopharmacologySelf-controlled case series # Real-world assessment of benzodiazepine and Z-drug use and associated safety events in adolescents and young adults: a self-controlled case series study REAL-WORLD EVALUATION OF BENZODIAZEPINE AND Z-DRUG USE AND ASSOCIATED SAFETY EVENTS IN ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS: A SELF-CONTROLLED CASE SERIES STUDY Presenter: Kyung Jin Lee Country: Hong Kong PRC Institution: The University of Hong Kong, Centre for Safe Medication Practice and Research Session: 3000 - PARALLEL SHORT ORAL POSTER SESSIONS: PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY 01 Date: Thu, 24.09.2026 Among young people aged 12 to 25 years in Hong Kong who initiated benzodiazepine receptor agonists, treatment periods are associated with increased risks of emergency department visits, self-harm, drug overdose, and hospitalization for substance use disorder, with even higher risks shortly before treatment initiation. The study aimed to assess the real-world safety risks of benzodiazepine (BZD) and Z-drug use, collectively termed benzodiazepine receptor agonists (BZRAs), among adolescents and young adults aged 12 to 25 years in Hong Kong. Using the Hong Kong Clinical Data Analysis and Reporting System, a self-controlled case series (SCCS) design was applied to individuals receiving their first BZRA prescription between 2009 and 2023, with each individual serving as their own control; follow-up ended on December 31, 2024, at the onset of epilepsy, on the individual's 26th birthday, at death, or one year after the last prescription. Outcomes were all-cause emergency department visits, first episodes of self-harm, drug overdose, and hospitalization for substance use disorder (SUD); conditional Poisson regression was used to calculate incidence rate ratios (IRRs) adjusted for age, season, prescription year, and concomitant psychotropic medication use, and a sensitivity analysis was conducted using a 7-day lagged risk window. A total of 30,905 individuals were included; 58.9% were female, 19.4% had depression, 5.3% had an anxiety disorder, and 3.7% had a sleep disorder, with a mean follow-up of 8.1 (SD 3.6) years; 24,821 emergency department visits, 2,982 first episodes of self-harm, 2,193 drug overdoses, and 917 hospitalizations for SUD were identified. Among all BZRA users, compared with unexposed periods, treatment periods were associated with an IRR of 5.18 (95% CI 4.57 to 5.86) for self-harm, 3.55 (3.23 to 3.90) for drug overdose, 1.93 (1.89 to 1.97) for all-cause emergency department visits, and 4.69 (3.93 to 5.59) for hospitalization for SUD. Risks were even higher during the pretreatment period: the IRR was 13.57 (12.24 to 15.05) for self-harm, 7.34 (6.69 to 8.06) for overdose, 5.25 (5.16 to 5.34) for emergency department visits, and 17.40 (15.32 to 19.76) for hospitalization for SUD; the associations persisted with the 7-day lagged window. The authors attribute the increase in risk shortly before treatment initiation to prescribing during periods of acute deterioration, noting that a contribution of BZRAs to adverse events cannot be ruled out, that risks and benefits should be carefully assessed, and that co-prescribing with opioids should be avoided; limitations include exposure misclassification and the effect of post-event censoring. [View the original poster](https://cslide.ctimeetingtech.com/wcp26/attendee/eposter/file/783) How to cite this study APA 7: Lee, K. J., et al. (2026, September 24). Real-world evaluation of benzodiazepine and z-drug use and associated safety events in adolescents and young adults: a self-controlled case series study [Poster presentation]. 26th WPA World Congress of Psychiatry (WCP 2026), Stockholm, Sweden. https://cslide.ctimeetingtech.com/wcp26/attendee/eposter/file/783 Vancouver: Lee KJ, et al. Real-world evaluation of benzodiazepine and z-drug use and associated safety events in adolescents and young adults: a self-controlled case series study [poster]. 26th WPA World Congress of Psychiatry (WCP 2026); 2026 Sep 23-26; Stockholm, Sweden. 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