Benzodiazepine use, quality of life and psychiatric symptom burden in oral and injectable opioid agonist treatment: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Use of benzodiazepines (BZD) in patients receiving opioid agonist treatment (OAT) is common and associated with a variety of negative health and social outcomes. This cross-sectional study investigates the impact of BZD use in OAT patients on their quality of life (QoL).

Methods: A convenience sample of patients receiving oral OAT or heroin-assisted treatment in two outpatient centres in Basel, Switzerland was investigated.