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A study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease demonstrated that the sleeping medications increase the risk of dementiaResearchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in the United States discovered that the type and amount of the medication affects the risk.
For example, participants who “often” or “almost always” took sleeping pills They had 79% more chances of developing dementia, compared to those who “never” or “rarely” used sleeping pills. Among participants whose consumption of sleeping pills was notably lower, frequent users had similar odds of developing dementia as those who abstained or rarely used the medications.
According to the researchers, in addition to the frequency, the type of medication consumed also appears to influence risk. The study found that the first group were almost twice as likely to use benzodiazepineslike Halcion (triazolam), Dalmadorm (flurazepam) and Restoril (temazepam), prescribed for chronic insomnia .
These people were also ten times more likely to take Donaren (trazodone), a antidepressant which can also be prescribed for help sleep, and seven times more likely to take “Z drugs” such as zolpidem, a sedative-hypnotic.
Although future studies may provide clarity on the cognitive risks or the rewards of sleep medications and the role race may play, patients with poor sleep should hesitate before considering medications, according to first author Yue Leng of the UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Institute Weill of Neurosciences at UCSF.
“The first step is to determine what type of sleeping problems patients face. It may be necessary to sleep test if there is the possibility of suffering Sleep apnea“, said. “If insomnia is diagnosed, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-i) is the first-line treatment. If medications are used, the melatonin “It may be a safer option, but we need more evidence to understand its long-term impact on health.”
The new study follows previous work that showed black people are more likely than white people to develop Alzheimer’s, the most common type of dementia, and which have different risk factors and manifestations of the disease. In the current study, about 3,000 older people without dementia living outside nursing homes were followed for an average of nine years. Of them, 58% were white and 42% black. During the period analyzed, 20% developed dementia.
About a third of adults worldwide say they sometimes have problems falling or staying asleep. Faced with many sleepless nights, many people turn to medications to find temporary peace of mind, ranging from over-the-counter antihistamines that can act as sedatives to medications approved specifically for sleep, such as benzodiazepines and “Z drugs.”
The problem is that the most used ones are associated with side effects. For example, benzodiazepines have been linked to severe dependence and long-term cognitive impairment. Z drugs, such as the famous zolpidem, are associated with dizziness, headache, amnesia, sleepwalking, agitation, and hallucinations when used for a long time and in high doses.
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