Home
Newsletter
Events
Blogs
Reports
Graphics
RSS
About Us
Support
Write for Us
Media Info
Advertising Info
Elderly

Sedatives Increase Risk of Suicides in Elderly

Sunday, November 01, 2009 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer
Tags: elderly, health news, Natural News


Most Viewed Articles
https://www.naturalnews.com/027375_risk_suicide_research.html
Delicious
diaspora
Print
Email
Share

(NaturalNews) Taking sedatives or sleeping pills increases the suicide risk of senior citizens by 300 percent, according to a study conducted by researchers from Gothenburg University in Sweden and published in the journal BMC Geriatrics.

"Clinicians need to be aware of this, as these drugs are widely prescribed to the elderly," the researchers wrote.

Researchers compared the medical records of 85 Gothenburg residents above the age of 65 who had committed suicide with a group of the same age who had not committed suicide. After adjusting for suicide risk factors relating to each individual's history of mental illness, the researchers found that neither antidepressant nor antipsychotic use led to an increase in suicide risk. In contrast, the rate of suicides was four times higher among those who took sedatives or hypnotics (sleeping pills) as among those who did not.

Sedative and hypnotics are widely prescribed to seniors suffering from anxiety, depression or insomnia. Previous research has indicated that having any of these conditions already increases a person's suicide risk.

"Persons with these problems might be more likely to seek health care and perhaps more likely to receive prescriptions for psychotropic drugs," the researchers wrote.

Sedatives and hypnotics are typically indicated only for short-term use, and doctors are already urged to prescribe them to older adults with caution, as they can increase the risk of falls. The current study only adds to the risks associated with the drugs.

"A careful evaluation of the suicide risk should be carried out when an elderly person presents with symptoms of anxiety and sleep disturbance," the researchers wrote.

The researchers could not determine from this study whether the drugs actually caused an increase in suicidal behavior -- such as by increasing impulsiveness or aggression, including the tendency to self-harm -- or simply provided an easy means for people to commit suicide, by overdosing.

The World Health Organization estimates that for every person that commits suicide, 10 to 40 attempts are made. An estimated 877,000 people kill themselves every year.

Sources for this story include: www.reuters.com.

Receive Our Free Email Newsletter

Get independent news alerts on natural cures, food lab tests, cannabis medicine, science, robotics, drones, privacy and more.


comments powered by Disqus



Natural News Wire (Sponsored Content)

Science.News
Science News & Studies
Medicine.News
Medicine News and Information
Food.News
Food News & Studies
Health.News
Health News & Studies
Herbs.News
Herbs News & Information
Pollution.News
Pollution News & Studies
Cancer.News
Cancer News & Studies
Climate.News
Climate News & Studies
Survival.News
Survival News & Information
Gear.News
Gear News & Information
Glitch.News
News covering technology, stocks, hackers, and more