In addition, our study is limited by its focus on non-fatal drug-related poisonings as opposed to poisoning deaths. While our reliance on non-fatal poisoning allows for the creation of a more robust clinical risk profile that can be used to prevent fatal cases, future research evaluating the effect of benzodiazepine use on overdose deaths is warranted in light of our findings. Furthermore, although the MarketScan data boast a large sample size, nationally representative sample, and strong longitudinal follow-up at the patient level, it is limited by measurement error such that medication coverage does not always reflect the actual dose consumed. The MarketScan data’s generalizability is also limited to insured patients with observed drug-related poisonings; our findings may not be generalizable to lower-risk patients who did not experience poisoning events within the study observation period.
