ReviewCurrent psychiatry reports2016
Benzodiazepine Misuse in the Elderly: Risk Factors, Consequences, and Management.
Review in Current psychiatry reports, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 74 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
74 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 166 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Prescribed benzodiazepines and suicidal behaviors: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and clinical implications.BMC psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Reduction and prevention of agitation in persons with neurocognitive disorders: an international psychogeriatric association consensus algorithm.International psychogeriatrics · 2024Guideline
- Is there a link between the use of benzodiazepines and related drugs and dementia? A systematic review of reviews.European geriatric medicine · 2022Pooled it
- The Effects of Benzodiazepine Use and Abuse on Cognition in the Elders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Comparative Studies.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Risk of Dementia Associated with Benzodiazepine Use, After Controlling for Protopathic Bias.CNS drugs · 2018Pooled it
- Residual effects of low dose of suvorexant, zolpidem, and ramelteon in healthy elderly subjects: A randomized double-blind study.Neuropsychopharmacology reports · 2022Trial
- Accidental and Intentional Drug Poisoning Mortality in Older Adults in Spain: Nationwide Trends, 2001-2022.Mayo Clinic proceedings. Innovations, quality & outcomes · 2026Article
- Erectile dysfunction and subsequent substance abuse: a retrospective cohort study of US non-academic hospitals.Sexual medicine · 2026Article
- Dual orexin receptor antagonist-assisted dose reduction of benzodiazepines and benzodiazepine receptor agonists: a mirror-image analysis of insurance claims data.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2026Article
- Physicians' perceptions and treatment practices for agitation associated with Alzheimer's dementia vary by specialty in Japan.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Deprescribing: Reducing Harm, Enhancing Care.Rambam Maimonides medical journal · 2026Review
- Benzodiazepine-related polysubstance use and hospital resource utilization in older trauma patients: a retrospective multicenter study.Trauma surgery & acute care open · 2026Article
- International Comparison of Benzodiazepine Prescription for Older Adults in Acute Care Hospitals.Geriatrics & gerontology international · 2026Article
- Role of gender, age and rurality in benzodiazepine consumption in Catalonia, 2018-2022: a retrospective longitudinal drug utilisation study.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Benzodiazepine prescribing patterns among Medicare providers, 2017 to 2023.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Pharmacotherapy of psychiatric inpatients with mental and behavioral disorders caused by sedatives or hypnotics (F13): Results from an observational pharmacovigilance program between 2000 and 2017.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2025Observational
- Long-Term Insomnia Treatment with Benzodiazepines and Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review.NeuroSci · 2025Review
- Prevalence and Associated Factors of Benzodiazepine Use in Patients Attending a Community Mental Health Team in Scotland: A Cross-Sectional Survey.Clinical practice and epidemiology in mental health : CP & EMH · 2025Article
- Mixed drug overdose involving clonazepam, alprazolam, and olanzapine in a 72-year-old male with Parkinson's disease: a case report.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Article
14 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Benzodiazepine (BZD) inappropriate use (i.e., misuse and overuse) is a worldwide public health problem. Despite current knowledge about increased sensitivity to side effects in the elderly, that should lead to more caution, only a third of BZD prescriptions in this age group are considered appropriate. The most frequent inadequate situations are excessive duration and/or dosage of a medical prescription or self-medication, especially in a context where it would be contraindicated, e.g., long-acting BZD in the elderly. Polypharmacy and comorbidities are major risk factors. Consequences of BZD inappropriate use are falls, delirium and other cognitive dysfunction, acute respiratory failure, car accidents, dependence, and withdrawal symptoms. An emerging concern is a potentially increased risk of dementia. Contrary to most clinicians' belief, discontinuation of chronic BZD use in elderly patients is feasible, with adequate psychotherapeutic or pharmacological strategies, and can lead to long-term abstinence. Brief cognitive therapy mostly relies on psychoeducation and motivational enhancement and is particularly useful in this context. Further research is needed, notably in three areas: (1) assessing the impact of public health programs to prevent BZD inappropriate use in the elderly, (2) developing alternative strategies to treat anxiety and insomnia in elderly patients, and (3) exploring the association between chronic BZD use and dementia.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.