Study, Apr. 2016: "Potentially inappropriate psychotropic prescription..."

The full title of this French study is "Potentially inappropriate psychotropic prescription at discharge is associated with lower functioning in the elderly psychiatric inpatients. A cross-sectional study".

The outcome of this study seems intuitive, but of course, numbers are needed to back up any such theory. This study adds yet more weight to the already-large storehouse of studies that state that benzodiazepines are problematic for the elderly. In this case, the researchers looked at a particularly vulnerable portion of the elderly population, i.e. psychiatric patients. Not surprisingly, their daily functioning appears to be poorer when they take these medications.

Note: In this study, benzodiazepines are referred to as "anxiolytics" and "hypnotics".

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27129863