Latest Mental Health News

By Brenda Goodman, MA WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Sept. 27, 2012 -- Seniors who take certain kinds of drugs to treat anxiety or insomnia may be more likely to develop dementia than those who do not, a new study shows.

Seniors are often prescribed benzodiazepines or similar drugs to help with sleeping problems or anxiety. And even though most of these drugs are only meant to be used for a few weeks or months at a time, the drugs can be habit forming. Studies have found that many older adults stay on them longer, sometimes for years.

The new study, which is published in the BMJ, compared the risk of dementia in two groups of French seniors -- 95 who were recent users of any of 23 benzodiazepines or similar drugs at the start of the study and 968 who were not.

During the next 15 years, doctors diagnosed 253 cases of dementia. Thirty people (32%) who had taken benzodiazepines or similar drugs developed memory loss and difficulty thinking, compared to 223 people (23%) who had not taken them. Drugs used by people in this study included Ambien, Halcion, Klonopin, Restoril, Valium, and Xanax.

Even after accounting for other things that are known to affect brain function, like age, living alone, depression, high blood pressure, and diabetes, researchers found that seniors who took benzodiazepines were about 60% more likely than those who didn't to develop dementia.

The study doesn't prove that benzodiazepines cause declines in memory and brain function. And researchers say very short-term use of the drugs is probably safe.

But other experts say seniors may want to avoid the drugs altogether.

See the article here:
Insomnia, Anxiety Drugs May Raise Dementia Risk