Are U.S. Doctors Prescribing more Sedatives? Study

Prescription drugs can certainly help to alleviate the pain of various medical issues-yet taking too many can have the opposite affect. And unfortunately, a recent study shows that prescription drug abuse, including sedatives (benzodiazepine), have increased over the years.

For the study, researchers focused primarily on prescription sedatives, including Halcion, Xanax, Ativan, Valium and Librium, examining data on 3.1 billion people, all medications that are typically prescribed for anxiety or mood disorders. The team examined 3.1 billion doctor visits from 2002 to 2009. 

Findings showed that 12.6 percent of doctor visits involved some kind of painkiller or prescription for a sedative, also known as opioids. And during this time frame, researchers found that the number of prescriptions for sedatives increased by 12.5 percent a year.

Findings also showed that patients who get opioids are 4.2 times more likely to get sedatives as well-a potentially deadly combination.

"More research is needed to [identify] the reason behind the increase in benzodiazepine prescription, and a national effort is needed to highlight the danger of co-prescription of benzodiazepines and opioids," said study principal investigator Dr. Sean Mackey, director of the Stanford Systems Neuroscience and Pain Lab, via Medical Xpress.

What do you think?

More information regarding the study was reported at the American Acadey of Pain Medicine.