SynthesisEuropean geriatric medicine2022
Is there a link between the use of benzodiazepines and related drugs and dementia? A systematic review of reviews.
Synthesis in European geriatric medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 2 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
19 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence of Benzodiazepine, Z-Drug and Melatonin Use in Australian Residential Aged Care Facilities: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Australasian journal on ageing · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Health Care-Related Determinants of First-Time Long-Term Care Need in Older Adults in Germany: Retrospective Cohort Study Using Claims Data.Interactive journal of medical research · 2026Article
- Supporting General Practitioners to Deprescribe Benzodiazepines and Z-Drugs in Primary Care: Findings From a Modified Delphi Study.Basic & clinical pharmacology & toxicology · 2026Article
- Potentially inappropriate medications related to two-year progression of mild cognitive impairment and dementia.European journal of clinical pharmacology · 2026Article
- Benzodiazepine prescribing patterns among Medicare providers, 2017 to 2023.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Daridorexant and Insomnia in Clinical Practice: A Nominal Group Technique Consensus Study among Italian Sleep and Insomnia Experts.Current neuropharmacology · 2026Article
- Circadian Rhythms in Aging and Age-Related Neurogenerative Disease.Current sleep medicine reports · 2025Article
- Drug-Induced Cognitive Impairment.Drug safety · 2025Review
- Prescription medication use in the 10 years prior to diagnosis of young onset Alzheimer's disease: a nationwide nested case-control study.Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2024Article
- Benzodiazepine use in relation to long-term dementia risk and imaging markers of neurodegeneration: a population-based study.BMC medicine · 2024Article
- Association Between Hypnotics and Dementia: A Mini Narrative Review.Psychiatry investigation · 2024Article
- Prescribing and deprescribing guidance for benzodiazepine and benzodiazepine receptor agonist use in adults with depression, anxiety, and insomnia: an international scoping review.EClinicalMedicine · 2024Article
- Orexinergic Receptor Antagonists as a New Therapeutic Target to Overcome Limitations of Current Pharmacological Treatment of Insomnia Disorder.Actas espanolas de psiquiatria · 2024Article
- Benzodiazepine use and risk of incident MCI and dementia in a community sample.International psychogeriatrics · 2024Article
- Article
- Drugs with a negative impact on cognitive functions (Part 2): drug classes to consider while prescribing in CKD patients.Clinical kidney journal · 2023Review
- Therapeutic dilemmas with benzodiazepines and Z-drugs: insomnia and anxiety disorders versus increased fall risk: a clinical review.European geriatric medicine · 2023Review
- Factors associated with long-term benzodiazepine and Z-drug use across the lifespan and 5-year temporal trajectories among incident users: a Swedish nationwide register-based study.European journal of clinical pharmacology · 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
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeBenzodiazepines (BZDs) and related drugs (BZRDs) are commonly used to treat diverse psychiatric disorders due to their anxiolytic, hypnotic and sedative properties, despite their known associated side effects, including acute consequences on cognition. Recently, some studies have also suggested that long-term cognitive effects may coexist, as the increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia. This review aims to appraise and summarise published synthesis studies on the risk of dementia development due to BZDs/BZRDs use.
methodsA comprehensive systematic search was carried out in PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Epistemonikos databases. Grey literature and hand search of the studies' reference lists were undertaken. Meta-analysis, systematic and non-systematic reviews were included. Neither language nor date restrictions were applied. Search results other than synthesis studies were excluded. The methodological quality of the included reviews was analysed with AMSTAR-2 and SANRA tools.
resultsOverall, 877 records were initially retrieved and 15 complied with the inclusion criteria. From these, five were systematic reviews with meta-analysis, two were systematic reviews and eight were non-systematic reviews. Most of the primary studies included in the analysed reviews found an association between BZDs/BZRDs use and subsequent dementia, with meta-analysis studies reporting an increased risk for users (ORs ranging from 1.38 to 1.78). However, the considerable clinical and methodological heterogeneity of the primary studies makes it difficult to establish a causal relationship.
conclusionAlthough hampered by the heterogeneity between the studies, the present findings suggest an association between BZDs/BZRDs use and increased risk of dementia in older adults.
Indexed as
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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.