Sedatives Raise Suicide Risk for 65+
June 10, 2009 by Peggy Rowland
Filed under Women's Health
Sedatives and hypnotics are widely prescribed to the elderly suffering from symptoms of depression, anxiety and sleep disturbance. But is that wise? Perhaps not.
A new study from Gothenburg University researchers, Anders Carlsten and Margda Waern, reveals that sleeping pills are associated with a four-fold increase in suicide risk in the elderly (age 65 and older). Even after researchers adjusted for the presence of psychiatric conditions in study subjects, both sedatives and hypnotics were associated with increased risk of suicide.
Elderly individuals with a current prescription for a hypnotic are at a four times greater risk for suicide, says the researchers. They think the drugs may raise risk by “triggering aggressive or impulsive behavior, or by providing the means for people to take an overdose.”
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