Social Listening of Benzodiazepines Abuse and Misuse

Abstract

Introduction: Benzodiazepines are Class C drugs that can act as anxiolytics, hypnotics, sedatives, and muscle relaxants. Over the decade, benzodiazepine misuse has proliferated with increasing numbers of newly emerging benzodiazepines. The aim of this work is to use a social listening approach to identify the latest trends in benzodiazepine abuse and misuse. Methods: Literature reviews were conducted over various periods spanning over 2020-2021 and 2022/2023 from PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar. During the same periods, tweets were collected using the Twitter social media platform (Rapid Miner Software) and analyzed using a thematic analysis. Results: Over 1000 article and 60,000 tweets were collected and cleaned using the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The number of articles peaked in 2018/2019 and declined afterwards. The type of benzodiazepines being misused encompassed traditional benzodiapines such as diazepam and designer benzodiazepines such as bromazolam, with Xanax (alprazolam) being one of the most popular benzodiazepines. Polysubstance misuse with benzodiazepines included cannabis, opioids, steroids, nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol. Self-medication was a common theme for panic attacks, anxiety, and insomnia. Conclusions: Unsafe practices continue to be popular with benzodiazepine misuse. Clinicians and policy makers need to be vigilant when prescribing and devising harm reduction interventions related to benzodiazepines.