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Long-term Psychoactive Medications, Polypharmacy, and Risk of Suicide and Unintended Overdose Death Among Midlife and Older Women Veterans by Carolyn J. Gibson; Yixia Li; Guneet K. Jasuja; Salomeh Keyhani; Amy L. Byers is a Medicine article available to read on EtoBox.

What is Long-term Psychoactive Medications, Polypharmacy, and Risk of Suicide and Unintended Overdose Death Among Midlife and Older Women Veterans about?

## Abstract ## Background Rates of suicide and unintended overdose death are high among midlife and older women, yet there is paucity of data identifying women at greatest risk. Psychoactive medications, commonly prescribed and co-prescribed in this population, may serve as salient indicators of risk for these outcomes. ## Objective To determine whether long-term psychoactive medications and psychoactive polypharmacy predict risk of suicide and unintended overdose death among midlife and older women Veterans above and beyond other recognized factors. ## Design Longitudinal cohort study ## Participants Women Veterans aged ≥ 50 with at least one Veterans Health Administration (VHA) clinical encounter in FY2012–2013. ## Main Measures Long-term psychoactive medications (opioids, benzodiazepines, sedative-hypnotics, antidepressants, antipsychotics, and antiepileptics, prescribed for ≥ 90/180 days) and psychoactive polypharmacy (overlapping for ≥ 1 day) from VHA pharmacy records; suicide and unintended overdose death through December 31, 2018. ## Key Results In this national sample of 154,558 midlife and older women Veterans (mean age 63.4, SD 9.3 years), 130 died by suicide and 175 died

Who reads Long-term Psychoactive Medications, Polypharmacy, and Risk of Suicide and Unintended Overdose Death Among Midlife and Older Women Veterans?

Author

Carolyn J. Gibson; Yixia Li; Guneet K. Jasuja; Salomeh Keyhani; Amy L. Byers

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Published

2022

Language

EN

Field

Medicine (Health Sciences)