Long-term benzodiazepine use in patients taking antidepressants in a public health setting in Brazil: a cross-sectional study.

Prolonged use of benzodiazepines occurs more frequently in women, adults diagnosed several years earlier, users of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants and those who received a prescription from a psychiatrist. Education of clinicians, especially with regard to these populations, may decrease the overuse and misuse of benzodiazepines.