Sleeping tablets have been associated with a four-fold increase in suicide risk in the elderly, according to researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Geriatrics.
Research shows that even after adjusting for the presence of psychiatric conditions, sedatives and hypnotics were both associated with an increased risk of suicide.
The researchers speculate that the drugs may raise suicide risk by triggering aggressive or impulsive behavior, or by providing the means for people to take an overdose.
They also point out the possibility that 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.
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