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In 2005, the FDA issued an advisory — based on pooled results of clinical trials — regarding increased mortality among elderly patients with dementia who were treated with atypical antipsychotic drugs. Moreover, a U.S. retrospective study suggested that mortality risks among such patients might be even higher with conventional antipsychotic drugs (Journal Watch Dec 16 2005). Now, researchers have addressed the same issue using a database from British Columbia.
From 1996 through 2004, about 37,000 people aged 65 or older (mean, 80) received a first prescription for an antipsychotic drug: About 13,000 received conventional drugs (most commonly loxapine), and about 24,000 received atypical drugs (most commonly risperidone). The 180-day mortalit…