title: High dose benzodiazepines prolong reaction times in chronic users who have major depressive and/or anxiety disorders.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Short term administration of benzodiazepines (BZD) was found to prolong reaction time (RT) in experimental studies. However, studies on long term BZD use did not always adjust for important confounders and showed inconsistent results. We aimed to identify a possible relationship between long term BZD use and RT in BZD users in this large cross-sectional, observational study.
  
  
  METHODS
  The RTs of non-users (n = 2404) were compared with low (n = 288), intermediate (n = 74), and high dose BZD users (n = 57) in the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA). RTs were obtained from the Implicit Association Test. Analyses were adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, health indicators, severity of psychopathology and antidepressant use.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the NESDA participants, 419 subjects (14.8%) used BZDs. A higher dose of BZDs was associated with prolonged RTs (P = 0.01). When comparing the different dose groups, the high dose group, but not the low and medium dose groups, had significantly longer RTs than the non-users.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Tolerance for the RT prolonging effect of relatively high doses of BZDs does not seem to develop. As prolonged RTs can have adverse consequences in daily life, BZDs should be prescribed conservatively at the lowest possible dose.
authors: Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, the Netherlands.
authors: Leonie
authors: L
authors: Manthey
authors: Fawzia
authors: F
authors: van Loenen-Frösch
authors: Erik J
authors: EJ
authors: Giltay
authors: Tineke
authors: T
authors: van Veen
authors: Klaske
authors: K
authors: Glashouwer
authors: Brenda W J H
authors: BW
authors: Penninx
authors: Frans G
authors: FG
authors: Zitman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D001569:Benzodiazepines / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D001569:Benzodiazepines
keywords: anxiety; attention; benzodiazepines; psychomotor speed; reaction time; side effects
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