Benzodiazepine drugs are associated with increased risk for dementia, according to a BMJstudy.
The study included nearly 1100 community-dwelling, older adults in France who were free of dementia; 9% were considered new users of benzodiazepines — that is, they began using the drugs after the third year of follow-up.
During the next 15 years, dementia was diagnosed significantly more often in new benzodiazepine users than in nonusers (32% vs. 23%). After adjustment for confounders such as age, diabetes, and depression, new users had a 60% increased risk for dementia. A complementary, nested case-control analysis found a similar increase in risk.
The researchers argue against the idea that benzodiazepine use is simply a marker for other conditions (e.g., anxiety) that are linked to dementia — for example, the association between the drugs and dementia increased after 7 years of use. However, they acknowledge that such a theory cannot be "entirely ruled out."
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