• Rajaa Lagnaoui, Nicholas Moore, Yola Moride, Ghada Miremont-Salamé, and Bernard Bégaud.
• Département de Pharmacologie, Université Victor Segalen, Bordeaux, France. rjlagnaoui@hotmail.com
• Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2003 Sep 1;12(6):511-5.

BackgroundBenzodiazepines (BZD) are commonly prescribed in the elderly. Persons with dementia may be at a greater risk of adverse reactions of BZD such as cognitive impairment.ObjectiveTo assess the prevalence of BZD use in Alzheimer's disease patients and to examine patient and drug-characteristics associated with this use.DesignCross-sectional study.ParticipantsFive thousand community-dwelling and institutionalized patients initiating a treatment with tacrine for a mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease and included in the tacrine-study (Paco cohort).MeasurementsPatient characteristics and BZD use recorded at the inclusion.Main OutcomeUse of BZD during the 3 months prior to inclusion.ResultsThe 3-month prevalence of ever use of BZD was 20%. After controlling for age and gender, there was a non-significant inverse association between BZD use and a score of Mini-Mental Status Evaluation (MMSE) below 24 (OR: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.71-1.09), and significant inverse association with an increased number of chronic conditions (OR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.58-0.91). Higher use of BZD was associated with higher level of overall drug consumption (OR: 2.3, 95% CI: 1.97-2.80).ConclusionAlzheimer's disease patients are frequently prescribed BZD. A low score of MMSE (< 24) is associated with a decreased use of BZD. These results suggest important differences in BZD use patterns among persons with Alzheimer's disease.

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