Finnish researchers found that among 2,588 patients hospitalized for the first time with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, benzodiazepine use predicted almost 4x the rate of suicide and almost twice the rate of all-cause mortality. 826 of 904 patients who used benzodiazepines had purchased prescriptions that violated treatment guidelines. (Antidepressant use was associated with a decrease in suicide deaths). The findings appear in Archives of General Psychiatry.
© 2024 Mad in America Foundation