Benzodiazepine and antipsychotic medication use in older adults

Due to a less efficient blood–brain barrier, the brain is exposed to increased drug levels in the older adult, causing confusion, a higher degree of sedation than desired and impairment of psychomotor performance, contributing to falls and fractures. [...]the American Geriatrics Society and the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing have strongly advised against off‐label use of antipsychotic medications, which increases risk for adverse drug reactions including orthostatic hypotension, cerebrovascular events, sedation, fatigue, extrapyramidal symptoms and cognitive deficits (Gareri et al., ; Kate et al., ). Additionally, healthcare providers with prescription authority have shared their view that benzodiazepines represent, “our other prescription drug problem,” noting that the total number of off‐label prescriptions dramatically increased over the past decade while prescriptions of benzodiazepines by psychiatrists remained steady (Lembke, Papac, & Humphreys, ).