A Quiet Drug Problem Among Seniors

Older people are ignoring experts' warnings and choosing to use more anti-anxiety and sleep medications, elevating their risk of serious side effects and overdoses, reports the New York Times . "Way too many older Americans are getting benzodiazepines," says Michael Schoenbaum with the National Institutes for Health. "And of those, many — more than half — are getting them for prolonged periods. That's just bad practice. They have serious consequences." Schoenbaum co-authored a study published in JAMA Psychiatry estimating that nearly 9 percent of adults aged 65 to 80 took benzos in 2008. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counted only 63 benzo-related deaths among those 65 and older in 1999, and nearly 29 percent also involved an opioid. By 2015, benzo deaths in that age group had risen to 431, with more than 66 percent involving an opioid. In the following year, the Food and Drug Administration published a black-box warning about co-prescribing benzodiazepines and opioids, including those in cough products. Persons taking these drugs precisely as prescribed can unwittingly be at risk, as both sleep problems and chronic pain happen more frequently at older ages. Among benzos' most serious side effects are falls and fractures, because the drugs can induce dizziness, along with drowsiness and fatigue. In addition, benzos "have a negative effect on memory and other cognitive function," says Dr. Donovan Maust at the Veterans Administration Ann Arbor Health Care System.