Psychotropic Drugs and Risk of Motor Vehicle Accidents: A Population-Based Case-Control Study

This article describes the results of a study undertaken to examine the relationship between exposure to four classes of psychotropic drugs and motor vehicle crashes. The drugs in the study were antipsychotics, antidepressants, benzodiazepines (BZDs) and Z-drugs (zolpidem, zolpiclone and zaleplon). The authors set up a matched case-control study of 5,183 adult subjects who had experienced crashes and 31,093 matched controls, identified from the claims records of outpatient healthcare visits during the period from 2000 to 2009. The results showed a significant increased risk of a crash in subjects taking antidepressants within 1 month (adjusted odds ratio 1.73), 1 week (AOR 1.71), and 1 day (AOR 1.70) before the traffic crash occurred. Similar results were observed in subjects taking benzodiazepines and Z-drugs, but not antipsychotics. In addition, the authors observed significant dose effects of three classes of drugs – antidepressants (including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors [SSRIs] and tricyclic antidepressants [TCAs]), BZDs (including long-acting, short-acting, hypnotics, and anxiolytics), and Z-drugs - on the risk of experiencing a motor vehicle crash. The authors conclude by encouraging physicians and pharmacists to caution patients taking psychotropic medications to pay increased attention to their driving performance, due to the increased risk of traffic crashes.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2125.2012.04410.x
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/03065251
• Authors:
  • Chang, Chia-Ming
  • Wu, Erin Chia-Hsuan
  • Chen, Chuan-Yu
  • Wu, Kuan-Yi
  • Liang, Hsin-Yi
  • Chau, Yeuk-Lun
  • Wu, Chi-Shin
  • Lin, Keh-Ming
  • Tsai, Hui-Ju
• Publication Date: 2013

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 1125-1133
• Serial:
  • British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
  • Volume: 75
  • Issue Number: 4
  • Publisher: Blackwell Scientific Publications Limited
  • ISSN: 0306-5251
  • EISSN: 1365-2125
  • Serial URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-2125

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Antidepressants; Crash causes; Dosage; Drug effects; Drug use; Drugged drivers; High risk drivers; Human factors in crashes; Mental illness; Opioids; Psychotropic agents
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01529157
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 27 2014 3:27PM