Trial reportBMC geriatrics2018
Long-term persistence of withdrawal of temazepam, zopiclone, and zolpidem in older adults: a 3-year follow-up study.
Trial report in BMC geriatrics, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparative effectiveness of interventions to facilitate deprescription of benzodiazepines and other sedative hypnotics: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2025Pooled it
- Enhanced coordination of care to reduce medication risks in older home care clients in primary care: a randomized controlled trial.BMC geriatrics · 2019Trial
- Primary Care Prescribing Patterns for Benzodiazepines and Z-Drugs, and Evidence Gaps Concerning Hydroxyzine and Seasonality: A Systematic Review.Clinics and practice · 2026Review
- Sedating antihistamine treatment with promethazine in patients with severe COPD with and without asthma: death and severe exacerbations in a nationwide register study.European clinical respiratory journal · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundStudies on persistence of benzodiazepine agonist (BZDA) withdrawal in older outpatients are few, and few studies on long-term persistence over years have yet been published. To describe the persistence of temazepam, zolpidem, and zopiclone (BZDA) withdrawal among older outpatients at 3 years from the beginning of withdrawal, as well as any changes in use of other medications.
methods92 outpatients (≥55 years) with primary insomnia, long-term BZDA use as hypnotics (mean duration of BZDA use 9.9 ± 6.2 years), and willingness to withdraw from BZDAs each received either melatonin or a placebo nightly for one month. During this period, BZDAs were meant to be gradually withdrawn. Sleep hygiene counselling and psychosocial support were provided. Three years later, use of BZDAs and other medications was determined by interview and confirmed from medical records.
resultsOf the original 92 outpatients, 83 (90%) participated in the 3-year survey (mean follow-up 3.3 ± 0.2 years). The number of BZDA-free participants decreased from 34 (37%) at 6 months to 26 (28%; intention-to-treat) at 3 years, that of irregular BZDA users decreased from 44 (48%) at 6 months to 27 (29%) at 3 years, while that of regular users increased from 11 (12%) at 6 months to 30 (33%) at 3 years (P = 0.001). Those who were regular BZDA users at 3 years had at baseline (before withdrawal) higher BMI (P = 0.001) than did other participants. At 3 years, the total number of medications remained unchanged for non-users (P = 0.432), but increased for the irregular (P = 0.011) and regular users (P = 0.026) compared to baseline. At 3 years, compared to baseline, use of antidepressants, dopamine agonists, melatonin, and NSAIDs/paracetamol was significantly more common in the whole cohort, but their use did not differ between the BZDA-user subgroups. Randomization to melatonin or placebo during BZDA withdrawal was unrelated to BZDA-withdrawal result.
conclusionsAt 3 years after withdrawal, the number of BZDA-free participants had decreased, but still one-third of the subjects remained BZDA-free, and one-third had reduced their use. Successful BZDA withdrawal did not lead to any increase in total number of medications; use of symptomatic medications in the whole cohort, however, did increase.
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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.