Evidence for short-term symptom control does not automatically support continuing the same medicine indefinitely.
The review selected twenty-seven relevant publications from a broad literature search. It considered mortality, hospitalization, cognition, functioning and related conditions such as catatonia or akathisia. The authors described limited support for long-term routine benzodiazepine use while acknowledging specific acute clinical roles.
The review combined different designs and outcomes rather than providing one randomized long-term effect estimate. More severe illness can influence both benzodiazepine prescribing and adverse outcomes. Associations with brain measures or hospitalization should not be treated as proof of a single causal pathway.
For a medication review, identify the original target symptom and whether it persisted. Distinguish a short acute intervention from chronic maintenance exposure. Evaluate the patient’s illness severity and other treatments before assigning an adverse outcome to a benzodiazepine alone.
Source: Publication PMC12681227. The case-review applications above are interpretive analysis.
Related reading: Historical and New Benzodiazepine Use Had Different Acute-Care Associations in Opioid Users.