GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Jun 4, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Sleeping pills have been
associated with a four-fold increase in suicide risk in the elderly, researchers
in Sweden found.
Anders Carlsten and Margda Waern of Gothenburg University carried out a case
control study to determine if specific types of psychoactive drugs were
associated with suicide risk in later life.
The study, published in the journal BMC Geriatrics, found that even after
adjusting for the presence of psychiatric conditions, sedatives and hypnotics
were both associated with an increased risk of suicide.
"Sedative treatment was associated with an almost 14-fold increase of suicide
risk in the crude analyses and remained an independent risk factor for suicide
even after adjustment for the presence of mental disorders. Having a current
prescription for a hypnotic was associated with a four-fold increase in suicide
risk in the adjusted model," the study authors said in a statement.
However, the study authors also said there is a possibility these drugs may
merely be markers for some other factor related to suicide risk, such as somatic
illness, functional disability, alcohol use disorder, interpersonal problems,
lack of social network or sleep disturbance.
"Persons with these problems might be more likely to seek healthcare and perhaps
more likely to receive prescriptions for psychotropic drugs," the researchers
said.
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