French researchers have found that benzodiazepines are associated with a robust increased risk of dementia in older patients. They performed a prospective population-based study of 1,063 men and women (mean age 78.2), all of whom were free of dementia and began taking benzodiazepines between the third and fifth year of follow-up. During the 15-year follow-up, 253 cases of dementia occurred, each confirmed by a neurologist, representing an approximately 50 percent increase in the level of risk when compared with a control group who did not take benzodiazepines.