EVIDENCE LIBRARY
Older-Age Bipolar Study Associated Current Benzodiazepine Use With Lower Cognitive Scores
A cross-sectional study found that benzodiazepine use was one of several factors associated with cognitive performance. It could not establish the direction or cause of that association.
A cross-sectional study found that benzodiazepine use was one of several factors associated with cognitive performance. It could not establish the direction or cause of that association.
The cognitive assessment
The study assessed 172 people aged fifty or older with bipolar disorder using thirteen neuropsychological tests. A multivariable analysis in 125 participants included psychiatric history, cardiovascular factors, and current medication use.
Benzodiazepine use and a history of at least five psychiatric admissions were associated with worse composite cognitive performance. The overall model accounted for forty-three percent of score variance.
Multiple influences remain
The medications were not randomly assigned. Indication, current symptoms, illness burden, other treatment, and unmeasured factors may contribute to both prescribing and cognition.
A one-time assessment cannot establish progressive cognitive decline or the amount of improvement after discontinuation. For individual interpretation, retain the specific cognitive domains, testing conditions, dose timing, and illness course. The result supports considering medication exposure among several explanations, without assigning every low score or long-term cognitive problem to benzodiazepines.
Source paper
Original analysis of the supplied journal article, identified as PMC8518600.