Although psychotropic drugs are often used to control behavioral symptoms in nursing-home residents, recent data points out that these drugs are given to close to 2/3 of the dementia patients currently residing in nursing homes across the country and have devastating effects. The data states that prolonged use of these drugs leads to a greater risk of adverse effects and even death.
 
Patients who are treated with conventional antipsychotics increased the risk of death by 47% and increased the risk of suffering from a femur fracture by more than 61%. Additionally, other drugs, such as benzodiazepines, were associated with a 54% increase in the risk of heart failure, and patients who regularly took antidepressants had a 20%-30% increase in the risk of death.

You can find additional information on this study online here.