Mortality in elderly men with low psychosocial coping resources using anxiolytic-hypnotic drugs

Objective: Insufficient coping with stress may lead to increased susceptibi lity for disease and death. Use of anxiolytic-hypnotic drugs has been sugge sted as a coping strategy, and some opinions have proposed their use as pre ventive medication. The aim of this study was to estimate if use of anxioly tic-hypnotic drugs counters the increased mortality observed in individuals lacking other coping strategies such as emotional support and social parti cipation. Methods: A population based cohort study with 10-year (1982/83-19 93) survival analysis was performed in 491 men born in 1914, living in the Swedish city of Malmo. Results: Compared with men with a high level of psyc hosocial coping resources who did not use anxiolytic-hypnotic drugs, men wi th a low level of psychosocial coping resources had a higher risk of death irrespective whether they used anxiolytic-hypnotic drugs, RR = 1.7 (95% CI 1.1-2.6) or not (RR = 1.8 (95%: 1.3-2.5). Conclusion: Anxiolytic-hypnotic d rugs do not seem to counter increased mortality in elderly men with low psy chosocial coping resources.