December 16, 2014
Blurb
Contact: Dacia Morris
(646) 774-8724
morrisd@nyspi.columbia.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Benzodiazepine Use Increases with Age, Despite Significant Risks in Elderly Patients
NIH-Funded Study First to Identify National Prescribing Patterns
(New York, NY)—Despite the risks of confusion and falls associated with benzodiazepine use by the elderly, a new study finds that prescription of benzodiazepines increases as people age. The research, published in JAMA Psychiatry, provides the first estimates of usage patterns in the United States.
Senior author Mark Olfson, MD, MPH, and his co-authors reviewed data from a national prescription database on benzodiazepine prescription patterns from 2008. They found that among all adults age 18 to 80, about 11.5 million, or 5 percent, received a benzodiazepine prescription that year. The percentage increased with age, from 2.6 percent for those 18 to 35 to 8.7 percent for those 65 to 80, the oldest group studied.
According to Dr. Olfson, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center and a research psychiatrist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, nearly one-third of adults age 65 and older who use benzodiazepines continue on them for at least four months. Such long-term use is associated with decreased effectiveness of the medication and increased risk of physical dependence on it.
Benzodiazepines, which include Xanax, Valium, and Ativan, are used to treat anxiety and sleep problems and are one of the most commonly prescribed classes of medications in developed countries.
“These prescribing patterns likely put a large number of older adults at unnecessary risk of falls, motor vehicle accidents, and confusion,” said Dr. Olfson. There are also risks of benzodiazepine abuse. “As life expectancy increases and the population ages,” he said, “an increasing number of older adult Americans will face these risks from long-term benzodiazepine use unless steps are taken to promote safer alternative treatments.”
Also of potential concern, the study showed that only around 10 percent of adults age 65 to 80 who were treated with benzodiazepines long term received any of their benzodiazepine prescriptions from psychiatrists, physicians who specialize in the assessment and treatment of mental disorders.
“We hope that these findings will serve as an impetus for health care professionals to teach older adults with anxiety or insomnia about non-pharmacological approaches to relieving stress and promoting healthy sleep,” said Dr. Olfson. “Examples include increasing light-to-moderate exercise, promoting supportive relationships, ensuring adequate exposure to natural light, avoiding stimulants such as caffeine late in the day, avoiding naps, establishing a regular relaxing bedtime routine, and accepting that quality of sleep naturally tends to decline as we age.”
The paper is titled, “Benzodiazepine Use in the United States.”
The other contributors are Marissa King, PhD, Yale University, and Michael Schoenbaum, PhD, National Institute of Mental Health.
This research was funded by contracts from the National Institutes of Health to Yale University (Dr. King) and Columbia University (Dr. Olfson), grant U19HSO2112 from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (Dr. Olfson), and the New York State Psychiatric Institute (Dr. Olfson).
The authors declare no financial or other conflicts of interest.
A video summarizing the study’s findings is available.
###
Columbia University Department of Psychiatry and New York State Psychiatric Institute (Columbia Psychiatry/NYSPI)
New York State Psychiatric Institute (founded in 1896) and the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry have been closely affiliated since 1925. Their co-location in a New York State facility on the NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center campus provides the setting for a rich and productive collaborative relationship among scientists and physicians in a variety of disciplines. Columbia Psychiatry/NYSPI are ranked among the best departments and psychiatric research facilities in the nation and have contributed greatly to the understanding of and current treatment for psychiatric disorders. The Department and Institute are home to distinguished clinicians and researchers noted for their clinical and research advances in the diagnosis and treatment of depression, suicide, schizophrenia, bipolar and anxiety disorders and childhood psychiatric disorders. Their combined expertise provides state of the art clinical care for patients, and training for the next generation of psychiatrists and psychiatric researchers.
Visit http://nyspi.org and http://columbiapsychiatry.org/ for more information.
(646) 774-8724
morrisd@nyspi.columbia.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Benzodiazepine Use Increases with Age, Despite Significant Risks in Elderly Patients
NIH-Funded Study First to Identify National Prescribing Patterns
(New York, NY)—Despite the risks of confusion and falls associated with benzodiazepine use by the elderly, a new study finds that prescription of benzodiazepines increases as people age. The research, published in JAMA Psychiatry, provides the first estimates of usage patterns in the United States.
Senior author Mark Olfson, MD, MPH, and his co-authors reviewed data from a national prescription database on benzodiazepine prescription patterns from 2008. They found that among all adults age 18 to 80, about 11.5 million, or 5 percent, received a benzodiazepine prescription that year. The percentage increased with age, from 2.6 percent for those 18 to 35 to 8.7 percent for those 65 to 80, the oldest group studied.
According to Dr. Olfson, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center and a research psychiatrist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, nearly one-third of adults age 65 and older who use benzodiazepines continue on them for at least four months. Such long-term use is associated with decreased effectiveness of the medication and increased risk of physical dependence on it.
Benzodiazepines, which include Xanax, Valium, and Ativan, are used to treat anxiety and sleep problems and are one of the most commonly prescribed classes of medications in developed countries.
“These prescribing patterns likely put a large number of older adults at unnecessary risk of falls, motor vehicle accidents, and confusion,” said Dr. Olfson. There are also risks of benzodiazepine abuse. “As life expectancy increases and the population ages,” he said, “an increasing number of older adult Americans will face these risks from long-term benzodiazepine use unless steps are taken to promote safer alternative treatments.”
Also of potential concern, the study showed that only around 10 percent of adults age 65 to 80 who were treated with benzodiazepines long term received any of their benzodiazepine prescriptions from psychiatrists, physicians who specialize in the assessment and treatment of mental disorders.
“We hope that these findings will serve as an impetus for health care professionals to teach older adults with anxiety or insomnia about non-pharmacological approaches to relieving stress and promoting healthy sleep,” said Dr. Olfson. “Examples include increasing light-to-moderate exercise, promoting supportive relationships, ensuring adequate exposure to natural light, avoiding stimulants such as caffeine late in the day, avoiding naps, establishing a regular relaxing bedtime routine, and accepting that quality of sleep naturally tends to decline as we age.”
The paper is titled, “Benzodiazepine Use in the United States.”
The other contributors are Marissa King, PhD, Yale University, and Michael Schoenbaum, PhD, National Institute of Mental Health.
This research was funded by contracts from the National Institutes of Health to Yale University (Dr. King) and Columbia University (Dr. Olfson), grant U19HSO2112 from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (Dr. Olfson), and the New York State Psychiatric Institute (Dr. Olfson).
The authors declare no financial or other conflicts of interest.
A video summarizing the study’s findings is available.
###
Columbia University Department of Psychiatry and New York State Psychiatric Institute (Columbia Psychiatry/NYSPI)
New York State Psychiatric Institute (founded in 1896) and the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry have been closely affiliated since 1925. Their co-location in a New York State facility on the NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center campus provides the setting for a rich and productive collaborative relationship among scientists and physicians in a variety of disciplines. Columbia Psychiatry/NYSPI are ranked among the best departments and psychiatric research facilities in the nation and have contributed greatly to the understanding of and current treatment for psychiatric disorders. The Department and Institute are home to distinguished clinicians and researchers noted for their clinical and research advances in the diagnosis and treatment of depression, suicide, schizophrenia, bipolar and anxiety disorders and childhood psychiatric disorders. Their combined expertise provides state of the art clinical care for patients, and training for the next generation of psychiatrists and psychiatric researchers.
Visit http://nyspi.org and http://columbiapsychiatry.org/ for more information.