Declining use of anti-anxiety drugs among veterans with PTSD
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Courtesy Of Army Times
A study co-authored by Dartmouth psychiatry professor Matthew Friedman indicates fewer veterans are using anti-anxiety drugs to treat symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The news comes to the relief of current psychiatric guidelines, which recommend against the use of benzodiazepines to treat PTSD.
"One of our concerns is that it's very, very difficult to get patients off benzodiazepines," Friedman, executive director of the National Center for PTSD, told Reuters.
As more and more soldiers return from recent and ongoing military conflicts, such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, this evidence will prove to be increasingly helpful, researchers say. Some doctors like Dr. Alexander Neumeister warn that a decline of benzodiazepines may signal an increase in more risky, off-label drugs.