Trazodone

A common alternative to antipsychotics can be as dangerous to seniors with dementia, new research finds.

Researchers with the University of Toronto noted that prescribing the antidepressant trazodone to older adults creates a similar risk of falls and major factures. Results appeared this week in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

“As clinicians move to decrease antipsychotic use, we should not consider trazodone as a uniformly safer alternative to atypical antipsychotics,” noted Jennifer Watt, M.D., and her co-authors.

Researchers analyzed data from nearly 6,600 seniors in long-term care facilities who were newly prescribed trazodone and almost 2,900 recently given atypical antipsychotics. They found that both groups experienced similar rates of falls and major fractures, though those given trazodone did experience a lower risk of death.