The New York Times (3/16, Span, Subscription Publication) reports that “for years, geriatricians and researchers have sounded the alarm about the use of benzodiazepines among older adults,” including Valium (diazepam), Klonopin (clonazepam), Xanax (alprazolam) and Ativan (lorazepam), but “the cautions have had scant effect” while the opioid epidemic has compounded the problem. According to Michael Schoenbaum, an epidemiologist at the National Institutes for Health, “Way too many older Americans are getting benzos. And of those, many — more than half — are getting them for prolonged periods. That’s just bad practice. They have serious consequences.” The Times notes that in 2016 “the Food and Drug Administration issued a black-box warning about co-prescribing benzodiazepines and opioids, including those in cough products.”
Related Links:
— “A Quiet Drug Problem Among the Elderly,” Paula Span, New York Times, March 16, 2018.