People who take common sleeping pills seem to face a massive increase in risk of dying, researchers warned today.
A study by a US health charity found increased risks of between three and four times linked to the use of the drugs – and a strong link with cancer development.
Researchers in California found the high rate of deaths over a five year period, according to a report in BMJ Open.
The study compared the fate of more than 10,000 people who took the pills in the Scripps Health organisation compared with 23,000 other similar people.
Researchers found a five times increased risk for those taking more than 132 doses over the course of a year.
These people faced a 35 per cent increased risk of developing cancer – and this could not be explained by illness diagnosed before the prescription of the drugs, the researchers say.
The researchers stress the findings do not show the pills cause illness – prescriptions could reflect underlying problems such as depression.
But researcher Dr Daniel Kripke said authorities, such as the UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, should reconsider any qualified approval for short-term use of the drugs.
Journal editor Dr Trish Groves said: "Although the authors have not been able to prove that sleeping pills cause premature death, their analyses have ruled out a wide range of other possible causative factors.
"So these findings raise important concerns and questions about the safety of sedatives and sleeping pills."
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