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Benzodiazepine Dependency Cause for Concern in Quebec Senior Population: Presented at APA

By Kristina R. Anderson

SAN DIEGO, CA -- May 23, 2007 -- Nearly 1 out of 5 seniors in the Canadian province of Quebec have used benzodiazepines to relieve symptoms of anxiety and insomnia and 6.9% are completely dependent on the drug, according to investigators who presented their findings here at the American Psychiatric Association 2007 Annual Meeting (APA).

In addition, these seniors who are dependent on benzodiazepines see their addiction as a trivial matter at their advanced age, the researchers said.

Benzodiazepine dependency represents a significant public health concern, yet it has to date been insufficiently studied, said primary author Philippe Voyer, PhD, associate professor, Laval University, Quebec, Canada.

In a presentation on May 23^rd, Dr. Voyer said he believes that the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual -- Text Revision IV (DSM-IV-TR) criteria of drug dependency may underestimate the true prevalence of the burgeoning problem among seniors.

In his population-based study, conducted among 2,402 seniors living in the province of Quebec, Dr. Voyer and colleagues found that 6.9% of elderly users of benzodiazepine drugs are dependent on these drugs according to DSM-IV-TR criteria.

"Benzodiazepine addiction in the senior population is similar to cocaine addiction in the younger populations," he said.

To their physicians, the seniors justify their use of benzodiazepines, which has oftentimes been going on for some 20 years, with excuses such as, " 'It's too noisy to sleep'," or " 'I need the drugs before my family visits'," or "'I feel I'm dependent, but at my age it isn't important that I am addicted'," Dr. Voyer added.

He said that another concerns is that seniors may not be able to deal with end-of-life issues in a competent manner if they were addicted to these drugs.

His goal is to continue to work with empirical evidence, he said, to determine the precise prevalence rate of benzodiazepine dependency among elderly people according to DSM-IV-TR criteria. He noted that his is the first Canadian descriptive study to determine drug use among seniors, where he said the addiction rate is "considerably higher than in the United States."


[Presentation title: Benzodiazepine Dependency Among Community-Dwelling Seniors. Abstract NR423]

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