Reducing inappropriate benzodiazepine use among older adults

Benzodiazepine use in the United States is common and increases with age, used by 8.7% of patients aged 65-80 years (Olfson, King,& Schoenbaum, 2015). Benzodiazepines —which include well-known medications such as Xanax, Ativan, and Klonopin—are most commonly used for anxiety and insomnia, even though psychotherapy and alternative medications are now recommended preferentially over benzodiazepines (Baldwin, Woods, Lawson,& Taylor, 2011; Smith et al., 2014; Wu, Appleman, Salazar,& Ong, 2015).Use is a particular concern among older adults, given the links between benzodiazepine prescribing and a variety of adverse outcomes including falls (Woolcott et al., 2009), fractures (Wang, Bohn, Glynn, Mogun,& Avorn, 2001) and motor vehicle accidents (Dassanayake, Michie, Carter,& Jones, 2011).
Source: The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry - Category: Geriatrics Authors: Tags: Poster Number: EI - 53 Source Type: research