The consumption of anxiolytics and hypnotics continues to increase in France. According to a study by the company Celtipharm relayed by Le Parisien, nearly one in three French people (32%) regularly or occasionally consume these drugs, without taking into account the possible side effects.
The so-called “psychoactive” drugs act on the central nervous system. They are used to relieve pain, sleep disturbances, anxiety or drug addiction. But, as the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) underlines: “these medicines can cause abuse and dependence or be diverted from the framework of use provided for by their marketing authorization “.
The older we get, the more sleeping pills we take
According to the Celtipharm study, 230,000 people (including 92,000 over the age of 70) are at risk of side effects due to prescriptions that combine taking psychotropic drugs with drugs that are not compatible. If seniors are also threatened by these side effects, it is quite simply because the older we get, the more sleeping pills we consume. However, an Inserm study has confirmed the link between the consumption of certain tranquilizers and the appearance, in the elderly, forms of dementia like Alzheimer’s disease. Without going that far, benzodiazepines are also responsible for falls that can lead to the dreaded femoral neck fracture.
“It is a real public health problem, judges the professor of pharmacology Bernard Begaud, in Le Parisien It is in our country that these psychotropic drugs are the most consumed, but also the most badly used. The number of fractures after a fall or traffic accident suffered by patients undergoing treatment is increasing. “
