An estimated 6%–10% of US adults took a hypnotic drug for poor sleep in 2010. A new study extends previous reports associating hypnotics with excess mortality. The researchers conclude that receiving hypnotic prescriptions was associated with greater than threefold increased hazards of death even when prescribed <18 pills/year. This association held in separate analyses for several commonly used hypnotics and for newer shorter-acting drugs. Control of selective prescription of hypnotics for patients in poor health did not explain the observed excess mortality.
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