Taking sleep medications does not bring a significant improvement in rates of disturbance after two years, according to study reported today.
About nine million adults in the USA use prescription drugs for sleep problems, according to the researchers. These include benzodiazepines and ‘Z-drugs’ such as zolpidem, zaleplon and eszopiclone.
Previous trials have looked only at the effects of short-term use and have tended to be small.
So, researchers led by Dr Daniel Solomon of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, looked at the potential benefits of these sleep medications in a large group of racially and ethnically diverse middle-aged women who reported a sleep disturbance, followed for up to two years.
In the study, 238 women who started sleep medications were compared with 447 who did not. After both one and two years, those on medication scored similarly to those not on medication for ability to initiate sleep, waking frequently, early morning waking.
Findings are published in BMJ Open today (12 May). The authors point out that this study can only report a correlation, and they point out that many of the participants were current or former smokers or moderate to heavy drinkers, and sleep quality was self-reported.
They conclude: “Sleep disturbances are common and increasing in prevalence. The use of sleep medications has grown, and they are often used over a long period, despite the relative lack of evidence.
”These drugs may work well in some people with sleep disturbances over several years, but the findings of this study should give pause for thought to prescribing clinicians and patients thinking about taking prescription meds for sleep disturbances in middle age."
Solomon, D. H. et al. Prescription medications for sleep disturbances among midlife women during 2 years of follow-up: a SWAN retrospective cohort study. BMJ Open 12 May 2021 doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-045074
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