Benzodiazepines and Z-Drugs: An Updated Review of Major Adverse Outcomes Reported on in Epidemiologic Research

Abstract

Various adverse events resulting from, or associated with, benzodiazepine and/or Z-drug use have been extensively reported on and discussed in great detail within the biomedical literature. It is widely accepted that motor vehicle accidents and falls leading to fractures in older adults are major adverse events that have been shown to occur more frequently in users of sedative-hypnotic medication, especially of the benzodiazepine and related Z-drug variety. However, the last few years have seen increasing reports in the literature raising the issue of benzodiazepine and Z-drug exposure in the development of other serious medical issues including dementia, infections, respiratory disease exacerbation, pancreatitis, and cancer. This article provides an overview and interpretation on the current state of evidence regarding each of these associations and proposes what gaps in the evidence for drug-exposure-harm associations need to be addressed in the future for the purpose of evaluating causality of harm as it relates to these drugs.