Patient characteristics and predictors of sleep medication use

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the characteristics of sleep medication users, and their satisfaction with treatment and subjective difficulty with quitting the drugs. A representative sample of 5000 adults in Norway was selected to participate in an epidemiologic study. The data were collected through a postal survey in which a total of 2645 (52.9%) participants responded. Weighted logistic regression was used to explore predictors for the drug pattern use. The prevalence of lifetime, current, and chronic use of sleep medications were 18.8, 7.9, and 4.2%. The use was associated with low socioeconomic status, older age, female sex, and frequent symptoms of sleep disorders, anxiety, and depression. Older age and low perceived control over sleep were the strongest predictors for use and difficulty in quitting sleep medications. Among responders who had ever used sleep medications, 80.3% would prefer a nonpharmacological treatment alternative. It is concluded that consumption of sleep medications is widespread in Norway, and that perception of control over sleep may play a significant role in the drug pattern use. Nonpharmacological treatment is to a small extent implemented in the health care sector.

Insomnia in elderly cancer survivors—a population-based controlled study of associations with lifestyle, morbidity, and psychosocial factors. Results from the Health Survey of North-Trøndelag County (HUNT-2)

“…Approaches to decrease such distress, assess and potentially adjust the use of medication, and reduce the burden of somatic symptoms and ADL problems could represent useful interventions for ECSs with insomnia symptoms. Teaching of sleep hygiene [28] could reduce sleepiness or excessive daytime somnolence and is frequently administered by Norwegian general practitioners [29]. A Norwegian study has also documented that cognitive-behavioural therapy is better than hypnotics in treating insomnia symptoms in the elderly.…”

“…Our definition of insomnia symptoms has been used in several Norwegian studies covering various aspects of insomnia problems [2,17,18,29,31,32].…”

Primary health care practitioner perspectives on the management of insomnia: a pilot study

“…However, studies exploring treatment preferences for insomnia increasingly show patients favouring non-pharmacological therapies over conventional pharmacotherapy (Morin et al 1992;Vincent and Lionberg 2001). In a cross-sectional study investigating patients' sleep medication use (n = 2645), of those who had a history of hypnotic use 80.3% would prefer a nonpharmacological alternative over pharmacotherapy given that treatments were equally effective but only 9.6% have ever been offered this option (Omvik et al 2010).…”

Association between chronic insomnia and depression in elderly adults

“…5,6,13,14 At present, pharmacological intervention remains the treatment of choice, and the use of hypnotics is significantly associated with elderly female patients with depression-like symptoms, suffering from poor sleep quality and complaining of difficulty falling asleep. 5,15 Elderly status and poor sleep control were the strongest predictors for the use of medication, and for subsequent difficulty in quitting sleep medications. 15 Both benzodiazepine and nonbenzodiazepine hypnotics have been the most frequently used drugs for treating insomnia in the elderly in Taiwan.…”

“…5,15 Elderly status and poor sleep control were the strongest predictors for the use of medication, and for subsequent difficulty in quitting sleep medications. 15 Both benzodiazepine and nonbenzodiazepine hypnotics have been the most frequently used drugs for treating insomnia in the elderly in Taiwan. 14 Most of the clinical trials of hypnotics in insomnia are of short duration, and the long-term effects, tolerance, and abuse liability of hypnotics require further study.…”