A study published in the British medical journal BMJ has discovered that taking a sleeping pill might increase your risk of early death significantly, according to U.S. News. A link was found between people who took sleeping pills and what researchers labeled "excess deaths" throughout the country.
How do sleeping pills cause early death?
Researchers were unable to determine exactly how the pills affect a person this way, although they did find what appears to be a preliminary link between sleep aids and an increased risk of developing cancer, according to WebMD. Among those they studied, people who took sleeping pills had a 35 percent increase in their rate of cancer development.
There were other risks as well that researchers labeled "associated factors." These included depression, anxiety, sleep apnea, mixed drug overdoses and several others.
How was the study conducted?
Scientists working through the Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania studied 10,000 patients who took sleeping pills for at least 2 1/2 years, according to MSNBC. They built controls into the study to account for individual health, age, weight, preexisting conditions and a host of other factors so as to be able to evaluate everyone who participated on an equal basis.
What has been the response to the study?
The maker of Ambien, Sanofi-Aventis, were quick to defend its product. Sanofi said the product is safe but should always be prescribed according to packaging directions and taken as directed. The company also questioned the validity of the study, saying it had limitations and was therefore inaccurate, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Other critics, including Nancy Snyderman, who is the chief medical editor at NBC, pointed out the study was based on prescriptions. That doesn't mean the person who was prescribed the sleep aid actually took it. She also pointed out the relationship between sleep aids and an increased risk of death appears to be associative, not cause-and-effect.
What will researchers be looking at next?
Daniel F. Kripke, who co-authored the study, wants to expand it. He intends to look into the factors involved in taking sleep aids and the link to major health issues to try to figure out how sleep aids can influence a person's overall health.
What have the authors of the study said about the results?
Robert D. Langer, one of the co-authors of the study, said in a statement quoted by CBS News that the team was "shocked" when it discovered the correlation between the drugs and major health issues. He recommended trying to find alternate methods of treating sleep issues and to use sleep aids sparingly.
Vanessa Evans is a musician and freelance writer based in Michigan, with a lifelong interest in health and nutrition issues.
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