A large cross-sectional survey associated disorganized speech with greater anxiolytic and hypnotic prescribing. It did not show that these medicines caused the speech disorder.
The population and association
The analysis included 3,744 Asian patients with schizophrenia. About a third met the study’s threshold for disorganized speech affecting effective communication.
After adjustment, disorganized speech was associated with cumulative anxiolytic–hypnotic dose and adjunctive mood-stabilizer use. Other prescribing categories showed different relationships.
Temporal ambiguity
A clinician may prescribe more medication because a patient is more symptomatic. Medication could also affect communication, and illness characteristics may influence both. A cross-sectional design cannot determine these pathways fully.
The broad anxiolytic–hypnotic category should not be silently reduced to one benzodiazepine or treated as a measured blood concentration. Some comorbid information was limited. For testimony about a person’s speech, distinguish formal thought disorder, sedation, dysarthria, baseline illness, and the timing of actual administration. The survey contextualizes prescribing patterns, but cannot diagnose intoxication from disorganized speech alone.
Source paper
Original analysis of the supplied journal article, identified as PMC6362172.
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