Table 1 Demographic and clinical characteristics of individuals aged 0 to 24 dispensed a benzodiazepine, January 2013 to March 2020*
Variablea | Entire Study Period (January 1, 2013 to March 31, 2020) | Pre-OHIP+ (January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017) | During OHIP+ (January 1, 2018 to March 30, 2019) | Post-OHIP+ (April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of individuals | 218,299 | 49,873 | 62,036 | 49,649 |
Age (median, IQR) | 20 (17-22) | 20 (17-22) | 20 (17-22) | 20 (17-22) |
0-4 | 4,279 (2.0%) | 816 (1.6%) | 1,128 (1.8%) | 1,005 (2.0%) |
5-9 | 6,643 (3.0%) | 1,505 (3.0%) | 1,871 (3.0%) | 1,619 (3.3%) |
10-14 | 17,134 (7.8%) | 3,514 (7.0%) | 4,419 (7.1%) | 3,679 (7.4%) |
15-19 | 76,981 (35.3%) | 15,609 (31.3%) | 19,344 (31.2%) | 15,270 (30.8%) |
20-24 | 113,262 (51.9%) | 28,429 (57.0%) | 35,274 (56.9%) | 28,076 (56.5%) |
Female, No. (%) | 136,091 (62.3%) | 31,522 (63.2%) | 39,383 (63.5%) | 31,441 (63.3%) |
Income quintile | Â | Â | Â | Â |
1 (lowest) | 42,314 (19.4%) | 9,863 (19.8%) | 12,108 (19.5%) | 9,693 (19.5%) |
2 | 40,657 (18.6%) | 9,324 (18.7%) | 11,561 (18.6%) | 9,135 (18.4%) |
3 | 41,675 (19.1%) | 9,475 (19.0%) | 11,878 (19.1%) | 9,499 (19.1%) |
4 | 44,379 (20.3%) | 9,813 (19.7%) | 12,573 (20.3%) | 10,083 (20.3%) |
5 | 49,274 (22.6%) | 11,398 (22.9%) | 13,916 (22.4%) | 11,239 (22.6%) |
Residence | Â | Â | Â | Â |
Urban | 196,653 (90.1%) | 45,153 (90.5%) | 55,974 (90.2%) | 44,750 (90.1%) |
Rural | 21,646 (9.9%) | 4,720 (9.5%) | 6,062 (9.8%) | 4,899 (9.9%) |
Prescriber Type | Â | Â | Â | Â |
General Practitioner | 135,218 (61.9%) | 30,417 (61.0%) | 37,380 (60.3%) | 29,288 (59.0%) |
Pediatrician | 10,470 (4.8%) | 2,606 (5.2%) | 3,196 (5.2%) | 2,689 (5.4%) |
Psychiatrist | 31,863 (14.6%) | 9,139 (18.3%) | 10,953 (17.7%) | 8,974 (18.1%) |
Other | 40,748 (18.7%) | 7,711 (15.5%) | 10,507 (16.9%) | 8,698 (17.5%) |
Average days’ supply of prescription (mean, SD) | 12.30 ± 11.91 | 14.62 ± 14.09 | 13.45 ± 12.82 | 13.79 ± 13.71 |
Days’ supply category |  |  |  |  |
1 to 7 | 99,221 (45.5%) | 19,774 (39.6%) | 26,492 (42.7%) | 21,156 (42.6%) |
8 to 14 | 49,671 (22.8%) | 10,956 (22.0%) | 13,798 (22.2%) | 10,959 (22.1%) |
15 to 29 | 33,985 (15.6%) | 8,343 (16.7%) | 9,770 (15.7%) | 7,844 (15.8%) |
> 30 | 35,411 (16.2%) | 10,800 (21.7%) | 11,976 (19.3%) | 9,675 (19.5%) |
Diagnosis in 30 days preceding dispensing date | Â | Â | Â | Â |
Anxiety disorder | 102,397 (46.9%) | 21,748 (43.6%) | 27,374 (44.1%) | 21,049 (42.4%) |
Mood disorder | 26,599 (12.2%) | 6,219 (12.5%) | 7,826 (12.6%) | 6,023 (12.1%) |
Seizure disorder | 8,817 (4.0%) | 2,058 (4.1%) | 2,773 (4.5%) | 2,572 (5.2%) |