Polypharmacy With Antipsychotics, Antidepressants, or Benzodiazepines and Mortality in Schizophrenia

Benzodiazepine use was associated with a marked increase in mortality among patients with schizophrenia, whereas the use of an antidepressant or several concomitant antipsychotics was not. Antidepressant use was associated with decreased suicide deaths. The literature indicates that long-term use of benzodiazepines among patients with schizophrenia is more prevalent in other countries (eg, the United States) compared with Finland, which suggests that benzodiazepine use may contribute to mortality among this patient population worldwide.