What This Means
This research suggests that older adults who experience loneliness are significantly more likely to start using benzodiazepines (medications typically prescribed for anxiety and sleep problems) and opioids (pain medications) compared to people who are not lonely. Using data from nearly 30,000 Canadians followed over time, researchers found that lonely individuals had almost twice the odds of starting benzodiazepines and about 43% higher odds of starting opioids. Importantly, when the researchers accounted for depression and anxiety disorders, loneliness still independently predicted starting benzodiazepines, but the link with opioids became statistically non-significant—suggesting that for opioids, mental health conditions may partly explain the connection.
The study also found that not all lonely people face the same risks. Among lonely individuals, women and non-White participants were more likely to be prescribed benzodiazepines, while lonely immigrants were less likely to receive these prescriptions. This highlights that social and cultural factors shape how loneliness translates into medication use, potentially reflecting both differences in healthcare-seeking behavior and disparities in prescribing practices.
This research matters because both benzodiazepines and opioids carry significant risks for older adults, including dependence, falls, cognitive impairment, and overdose. The findings suggest that loneliness may be a driver of potentially risky medication initiation in aging populations. Addressing loneliness through social and community interventions, alongside careful prescribing practices and deprescribing efforts for those already on these medications, could help reduce these risks.