Hip fractures may not be caused by benzodiazepine use

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Limiting the use of benzodiazepines does not appear to reduce the incidence of hip fractures, according to a new study.
Benzodiazepines are sedative drugs which are used for anxiety, sleep, and seizure disorders. There has long been concern about their possible adverse effects on elderly people. In particular, it has been argued that benzodiazepines may cause falls. A team at Harvard Medical School has tested this theory by looking at what happens when benzodiazepines are restricted.

They looked at a group of over 90,000 individuals aged 65 or more before and after New York placed restrictions on the prescription of benzodiazepines. The restriction led to a fall of 60 per cent in benzodiazepine use among women and 58 per cent among men. But the researchers say there was no corresponding fall in hip fractures. They looked also at data for New Jersey, where benzodiazepine use has not been restricted. If anything, hip fracture rates in New York are greater than in New Jersey. It may be the underlying condition, such as dementia, which leads to benzodiazepine prescription, that is the real risk factor for hip fracture, the researchers suggest. Hip fracture continues to be an important problem for the elderly, so the search for the underlying causes must continue.

Source
Annals of Internal Medicine 16th January 2007

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