This site is intended for health professionals only


Increased accident risk with psychoactive drugs

By Christian Duffin

Patients taking psychoactive drugs are at increased risk of causing and being involved in traffic accidents, a systematic review and meta-analysis shows.

Australian researchers examined 90 studies of three classes of psychoactive drugs – benzodiazepines and non-benzodiazepine hypnotics, antidepressants and opioids – and the risk of traffic accidents.

Two meta-analyses showed that benzodiazepines led to a 60-80% increase in the risk of traffic accidents and a 40% increase in ‘accident responsibility' compared with non-users.

Elderly drivers on benzodiazepines had a 13% higher risk of accidents than non-users, while drivers under 65 had more than a two-fold risk, ‘a result consistent with age-stratified risk differences reported in cohort studies'. Taking benzodiazepines and consuming alcohol raised the risk to more than seven-fold.

Anxiolytics and hypnotics both significantly impaired driving performance, and tricyclic antidepressants increased the accident risk in the elderly but not in younger patients.

Lead researcher Dr Tharaka Dassanayake, a visiting researcher at the University of Newcastle, New South Wales, said: ‘Benzodiazepine use was associated with a significant increase in the risk of traffic accidents and responsibility of drivers for accidents.'

Drug Safety vol 34 no2, 1 February 2011, pp. 125-156


          

Visit Pulse Reference for details on 140 symptoms, including easily searchable symptoms and categories, offering you a free platform to check symptoms and receive potential diagnoses during consultations.