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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsLose sleep over this study -Sleeping pills increase risk of death
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/feb/27/sleeping-pills-increase-risk-death-study<snip>
Doctors are calling for a rethink of the use of sleeping pills after a large study showed that the drugs carry a substantially increased risk of death for those who are prescribed them.
The study was carried out in the US, where up to 10% of the adult population took sleeping pills in 2010. The authors estimate that sleeping pills may have been associated with 320,000 to 507,000 extra deaths in the US that year.
The scientists in the study found that even at a relatively low rate of prescription fewer than 18 doses a year those who were given the pills had a 3.5 times greater risk of death compared with those who were not prescribed them. Individuals who were given pills more frequently between 18 and 132 doses in a year were more than four times more likely to be dead at the end of the study. The risk of death for those on the most pills 132 doses or more a year was more than five times that of those on no pills.
Those who had taken the most pills were also 35% more likely to be diagnosed with cancer although they had not been at greater risk of cancer than the control group before the study began. The risk was greatest for temazepam, one of the benzodiazepines. A link between sleeping pill use and cancer has also been found in previous studies.
orpupilofnature57
(15,472 posts)be taught in our schools .
malaise
(269,157 posts)because none is linked to their 'lil imaginary friend(s)
bananas
(27,509 posts)bmbmd
(3,088 posts)is also a legitimate risk factor.
Yo_Mama
(8,303 posts)Inability to sleep may be associated with a range of other undiagnosed disorders, such as pain and inflammation, occult infection, etc. Also psychoactive disorders such as depression, etc.
Also sleep apnea, which is a high mortality risk factor in and of itself.
This study does suggest that when a person walks into a doctor's office and announces that he or she has developed a sleep disorder, the first line of attack ought to be a medical evaluation unless there is a clear cause (loss of loved one, sudden stressor, known medical condition being treated). Giving sleeping pills to someone with sleep apnea is not the safest thing to do, for example.
If you ran a similar study on patients who had developed significant trouble sleeping but WERE NOT prescribed sleeping pills, I am guessing you would see similar bumps in the mortality/morbidity rates.
The study period was two and a half years, which implies that sleeping pills did not directly cause any cancers, etc.
I think sleeping pills are overused, but I would caution against drawing any quick conclusions from a study such as this. It's suggested in the article that the dosage provides a hint of a causative link. I doubt it - the dosage probably varies with the intensity of the underlying cause, which would provide the correlation.
Le Taz Hot
(22,271 posts)NOT sleeping cuts off years from your life. Not sure what the solution is for insomniacs. (With all due respect to the posters above -- TM is about as effective for chronic insomnia as is a cup of warm milk.)
RushIsRot
(4,016 posts)NightWatcher
(39,343 posts)You people are so "glass half empty".