Use of Prescription Benzodiazepines and Related Drugs in Family Caregivers: A Nation-Wide Register-Based Study

The study showed that family caregivers use more prescription benzodiazepines than non-caregivers of same age. Benzodiazepines are prescription drugs that are primarily used for insomnia and anxiety. Hence, the results suggest that family caregivers have more sleep problems and anxiety than their non-caregiver peers.

Family caregiver is a person who takes care of another person who cannot manage everyday life independently because of an illness or disability and caregiving may be burdensome. In previous studies, caregivers have reported more mental health problems than non-caregivers, but only few previous caregiver studies have utilized objective indicators of mental health and used large register-based datasets.

Among women, 17.2 % of caregivers and 15.2% of non-caregivers and among men, 14.6% of caregivers and 11.8% of non-caregivers used benzodiazepines per year in this study. These differences were largely explained by hypnotic benzodiazepine use. There were also more long-term benzodiazepine users among caregivers than controls and the total of daily doses of benzodiazepines used was higher among caregivers compared to controls.

Use of hypnotic benzodiazepines was high particularly among older caregivers. This is alarming as benzodiazepines are generally not recommended for older adults because their risks are likely to exceed their benefits in this age group. Benzodiazepines have several adverse effects, such as cognitive decline and falls, that are emphasized among older adults. Consequently, benzodiazepines may impair caregivers’ health and capability to care.

As a conclusion, it should be ensured that caregivers have access to effective and safe therapies for their sleep and mental health problems and that they receive sufficient support for caregiving.

The study included all caregivers who received family caregiver’s allowance in Finland in 2012 (42 256 caregivers) and 83 618 controls of same age. The data of the study were obtained from national registers for years 2012-2017.

Use of prescription benzodiazepines and related drugs in family caregivers: a nation-wide register-based study. Mikkola TM, Mänty M, Kautiainen H, von Bonsdorff MB, Koponen H, Kröger T, Eriksson JG. Age Ageing. 2022 Dec 5;51(12):afac279. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afac279. PMID: 36571780