ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences2022
Use of Benzodiazepines and Risk of Incident Dementia: A Retrospective Cohort Study.
Article in The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Safety and efficacy of intravesical instillation of botulinum toxin-A in the treatment of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome and overactive bladder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Neurotransmitter Systems in Alzheimer's Disease.Current issues in molecular biology · 2026Review
- Medication Exposure and Risk of Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- 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 and risk of incident MCI and dementia in a community sample.International psychogeriatrics · 2024Article
- Article
- Influence of daily life and health profile in subtle cognitive decline of women residing in Spanish religious communities: DeCo religious orders study.Frontiers in public health · 2024Observational
- Benzodiazepine Use and the Risk of Dementia in the Elderly Population: An Umbrella Review of Meta-Analyses.Journal of personalized medicine · 2023Review
- The association between Gabapentin or Pregabalin use and the risk of dementia: an analysis of the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan.Frontiers in 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
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPrevious findings regarding the association between benzodiazepine exposure and dementia have conflicted, though many have not accounted for anticholinergic exposure. The goal of this study was to evaluate the association of benzodiazepine exposure with the risk of developing dementia, accounting for the anticholinergic burden.
methodsUsing a retrospective cohort design, we identified veterans 65 or older without dementia during a 10-year baseline period and then followed participants for 5 years to evaluate the risk of dementia diagnosis. The primary exposure was cumulative benzodiazepine exposure. Cox proportional hazards survival model was used to examine the association between benzodiazepine exposure and dementia, adjusting for anticholinergic burden and other demographic and clinical characteristics associated with increased dementia risk.
resultsOf the 528 006 veterans in the study cohort, 28.5% had at least one fill for a benzodiazepine. Overall, 7.9% developed a diagnosis of dementia during the observation period. Compared to veterans with no exposure to benzodiazepines, the adjusted hazard ratios for dementia risk were 1.06 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02-1.10) for low benzodiazepine exposure, 1.05 (95% CI 1.01-1.09) for medium benzodiazepine exposure, and 1.05 (95% CI 1.02-1.09) for high benzodiazepine exposure.
conclusionsCumulative benzodiazepine exposure was minimally associated with increased dementia risk when compared with nonuse but did not increase in a dose-dependent fashion with higher exposure. Veterans with low benzodiazepine exposure had essentially the equivalent risk of developing dementia as veterans with high exposure. While benzodiazepines are associated with many side effects for older adults, higher cumulative use does not appear to increase dementia risk.
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