Anti-anxiety drugs and antidepressants raise mortality in dementia patients, study finds

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By Olivia Bowthorpe

Anti-anxiety medications and antidepressants seem to be linked to higher mortality in people with dementia, according to a new study from Northern Ireland.

The analysis of 28,781 patients, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, found that anti-anxiety drugs (anxiolytics) were linked to the greatest increase in risk, likely due to a higher chance of falls.