Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Section of Psychiatry, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2013 Dec;22(4):307-8. doi: 10.1017/S2045796013000358. Epub 2013 Jul 3.
According to a recently published population study conducted in France, exposure to benzodiazepines may be associated with an approximately 50% increase in the risk of dementia in the elderly. However, the clinical interpretation of this finding raised some concerns. A causal link between benzodiazepine use and diagnosis of dementia may be real, but it is nevertheless possible that the increased risk might be due to other confounding factors. In this article, the main strengths and weaknesses of this study are briefly analysed, including the possibility of reverse causation. Implications for research and current practice are discussed.
根据最近在法国进行的一项人群研究,老年人接触苯二氮䓬类药物可能与痴呆风险增加约 50%相关。然而,这一发现的临床解释引起了一些关注。苯二氮䓬类药物使用与痴呆诊断之间的因果关系可能是真实存在的,但也有可能是其他混杂因素导致了风险增加。本文简要分析了这项研究的主要优缺点,包括反向因果关系的可能性。还讨论了对研究和当前实践的影响。