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Benzodiazepine withdrawal in older people: what is the prevalence, what are the signs, and which patients?

  • Clinical Trial
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Abstract

Purpose

Benzodiazepines (BZDs) and related drugs (Z-drugs) are mainly taken chronically, and older people are much more likely to take them on a chronic basis despite recommendations. Withdrawal symptoms could be an obstacle to stopping BZD/Z-drug administration. The main objective of this study is to estimate the prevalence of withdrawal symptoms in patients aged 65 years and older who have experience a stop of BZD/Z-drug. The secondary objectives are to describe the withdrawal symptoms and identify factors associated.

Method

This ancillary study was based on a national observational study in patients with chronic BZD/Z-drug consumption. Patients who made at least one BZD/Z-drug stop experience were selected. Withdrawal symptoms are described, and a logistic regression was carried out to identify the variables most associated with withdrawal symptoms.

Results

In total, 697 patients were selected: 78% experienced at least one withdrawal symptom after a stop administering BZDs or Z-drugs; most of the withdrawal symptoms were psychological disorders.

Conclusion

Our study identifies a specific population experiencing withdrawal symptoms and who cannot stop administering BZD/Z-drug. We assume that withdrawal symptoms in patients with chronic use play an essential role in the nonstop use of BZD/Z-drugs.

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Funding

The study was funded by a grant from the French Ministry of Health (PHRC 2010).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Inserm UMR 1246, SPHERE, Methods in Patients-centered outcomes and Health Research, Nantes and Tours University, Nantes, France

    Alexandra Jobert, Edouard-Jules Laforgue, Marie Grall-Bronnec, Morgane Rousselet, Pascale Jolliet, Fanny Feuillet & Caroline Victorri-Vigneau

  2. Direction de la Recherche, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nantes, University Hospital, 5 allée de l’île gloriette, Nantes Cedex, 44093, Nantes, France

    Alexandra Jobert & Morgane Péré

  3. Pharmacologie clinique, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nantes, University Hospital, Place Alexis Ricordeau, 44093, Nantes, France

    Edouard-Jules Laforgue, Morgane Rousselet, Pascale Jolliet & Caroline Victorri-Vigneau

  4. Addictologie et Psychiatrie de liaison, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nantes, University Hospital, Nantes, 8 hôpital Saint-Jacques 85 rue Saint-Jacques, 44093, Nantes Cedex 1, France

    Edouard-Jules Laforgue, Marie Grall-Bronnec & Morgane Rousselet

Authors
  1. Alexandra Jobert
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  2. Edouard-Jules Laforgue
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  3. Marie Grall-Bronnec
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  4. Morgane Rousselet
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  5. Morgane Péré
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  6. Pascale Jolliet
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  7. Fanny Feuillet
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  8. Caroline Victorri-Vigneau
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Consortia

FAN-Network

  • Claude Barjoux
  • , Anne Batisse
  • , Alexandra Boucher
  • , Anne-Sylvie Caous
  • , Amélie Daveluy
  • , Céline Eiden
  • , Christine Fournier-Choma
  • , Elisabeth Frauger
  • , Valérie Gibaja
  • , Marylène Guerlais
  • , Emilie Jouanjus
  • , Reynald Le Boisselier
  •  & Stéphanie Pain

Contributions

All authors participated in data interpretation and writing paper. All authors have agreed to submit the data for publication.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alexandra Jobert.

Ethics declarations

Ethics statement

This study was approved by the local health ethics committee, the CCTIRS (Comité Consultatif sur le Traitement de l’Information en matière de Recherche dans le domaine de la Santé) and the CNIL (Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés). All participants provided written informed consent in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. The study is registered as NCT01920581.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Jobert, A., Laforgue, EJ., Grall-Bronnec, M. et al. Benzodiazepine withdrawal in older people: what is the prevalence, what are the signs, and which patients?. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 77, 171–177 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00228-020-03007-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00228-020-03007-7

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