A new research conducted by Sudeep Gill, MD, MSc, a geriatric medicine specialist, concluded that use of antipsychotic drugs is associated with an early and sustained increase in risk of death when used to treat disruptive behavior of older adults with dementia.

The study suggests that both newer “atypical” antipsychotics and older conventional antipsychotics are associated with increased mortality. The highest risk appears to involve use of the older conventional drugs.

“The clinical message is that even short-term use of these drugs can be associated with an increased risk of death, so physicians need to carefully weigh potential risks and benefits of using these drugs to manage symptoms of dementia, and they need to reassess the use soon after they’re initiated to see if they can be safely discontinued,” Dr. Gill said.

The Food and Drug Administration added a warning about the death risk to the labeling of atypical antipsychotics in 2005, but the researchers of the new study say the agency may want to consider a similar warning for conventional antipsychotics because the risk may be even greater with these medications.

Conventional antipsychotics include chlorpromazine and haloperidol. Atypicals include Eli Lilly's Zyprexa, Johnson & Johnson's Risperdal and AstraZeneca's Seroquel.