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Efficacy of benzodiazepines and related drugs in patients over 75 years of age and impact on cognition

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Abstract

Background

In France, despite the known risks, the use of benzodiazepines and related (BZD) is excessive, particularly in older populations. Over the age of 70, 1 person in 2 uses BZD on a long-term basis (more than 3 years), whereas it is recommended not to exceed 12 weeks. To compensate for the numerous undesirable effects and to maintain a positive benefit-risk balance, these treatments must be very effective and improve significantly the quality of life.

Aims

This study aims to determine whether the efficacy of BZD outweighs their adverse effects in older population.

Methods

In a population of 109 patients with cognitive impairment and hospitalized in Saint-Quentin (France), we recorded the use of BZD and medical background. Neuropsychological and geriatric assessments allowed cognitive and thymic evaluation.

Results

In our cohort of 109 patients, 50% of the subjects were BZD + and 78% were women. Patients in the BZD + group were no longer anxious but had poorer cognitive and executive performance than controls.

Discussion

Long-term treatment of anxiety in patients aged 75 and over with BZD appears to be effective. The deleterious impact of BZD on cognition has been demonstrated.

Conclusions

These results tend to consider non-medicinal therapies as serious alternatives to BZD for treating anxiety in the older population.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are not publicly available due to French data security regulation.

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Funding

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geriatric Department, Hospital Center, 1 avenue Michel de l’Hospital, 02321, Saint-Quentin Cedex, France

    Alexis Minouflet, Khelifa Hamouchi, Massinissa Haouchine, Béatrice Berteaux, Jean-Marie Sérot, Ingrid Gyselinck & Jadwiga Attier-Zmudka

  2. Radiology, Hospital Center, Saint Quentin, France

    Salif Dao

  3. BioFlowImage, University Hospital Center, Amiens, France

    Alexis Minouflet, Olivier Balédent & Jadwiga Attier-Zmudka

Authors
  1. Alexis Minouflet
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  2. Khelifa Hamouchi
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  3. Massinissa Haouchine
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  4. Béatrice Berteaux
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  5. Jean-Marie Sérot
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  6. Ingrid Gyselinck
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  7. Salif Dao
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  8. Olivier Balédent
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  9. Jadwiga Attier-Zmudka
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alexis Minouflet.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have declared no conflicts of interest for this article.

Ethical approval

The study protocol was approved by an independent Regional Ethical Review Board in Amiens (CPP: 2015/6). The French Data Protection Authority (CNIL: 150075B-31) gave its consent for the data to be entered. Study was registered in clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02578303). All procedures were performed according to the Declaration of Helsinki.

Informed consent

All participants were informed about study objectives and procedures and provided their written informed consent to participation. The consent was signed by the patients who were able to understand the main terms of the protocol; in the case of doubt in inability, the consent was signed by a family member.

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Minouflet, A., Hamouchi, K., Haouchine, M. et al. Efficacy of benzodiazepines and related drugs in patients over 75 years of age and impact on cognition. Aging Clin Exp Res 34, 2373–2380 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-022-02196-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-022-02196-8

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