Death and Sleep Drugs

Well here we are.

And once again the mainstream media is reporting on the problems with sedative hypnotic drugs.

The same problems of death and higher risk of death is reported today, even when it has been reported on Natural Health News since 2005.

I want to know why things haven't changed in prescribing practices if this is such a major public health issue. And I ask why, if the risk of cancer is higher because of taking these drugs, would you want to take them?

Setting Big PhRMA profit aside, I also want to know why, if the "benefit" from these drugs is meagre, that other options are not made available to people with sleep issues.

If you have sleeping concerns and would like to learn about other and more natural ways to get real and restful sleep without drugs or drug hangover, get in touch with us through our Health Forensics program.

Sleeping pills 'linked to increased death risk'

By Michelle Roberts, Health reporter, BBC NewsSleeping pills used by thousands of people in the UK appear to be linked with a higher death risk, doctors warn.
The American study in BMJ Open compared more than 10,000 patients on tablets like temazepam with 23,000 similar patients not taking these drugs.
Death risk among users was about four times higher, although the absolute risk was still relatively low.
Experts say while the findings highlight a potential risk, proof of harm is still lacking.
They say patients should not be alarmed nor stop their medication, but if they are concerned they should discuss this with their doctor or pharmacist.
UK guidelines for NHS staff say hypnotic drugs should only be used for short periods of time because of tolerance to the drug and the risk of dependency. But they make no mention of an associated death risk, despite other studies having already reported this potential risk.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said it would consider the results of this latest study and whether it has any implications for current prescribing guidance.

Millions prescribedIn 2010 in England, there were 2.8 million prescriptions dispensed for temazepam and almost 5.3 million for another common sleeping pill called zopiclone.
There were also more than 725,000 prescriptions dispensed for zolpidem and more than 9,400 for zaleplon, two other drugs in this same family.
The latest study looked at a wide range of sleeping pills, including drugs used in the UK, such as benzodiazepines (temazepam and diazepam), non-benzodiazepines (zolpidem, zopiclone and zaleplon), barbiturates and sedative antihistamines.
The investigators, from the Jackson Hole Centre for Preventive Medicine in Wyoming and the Scripps Clinic Viterbi Family Sleep Centre in California, found that people prescribed these pills were 4.6 times more likely to die during a 2.5-year period compared to those not on the drugs. Overall, one in every 16 patients in the sleeping pill group died (638 out of 10,531 in total) compared to one in every 80 of the non-users (295 deaths out of 23,674 patients).                     This increased risk was irrespective of other underlying health conditions, such as heart and lung diseases, and other factors like smoking and alcohol use, which the researchers say they did their best to rule out. The researchers say it is not yet clear why people taking sleeping tablets may be at greater risk. The drugs are sedating and this may make users more prone to falls and other accidents. The tablets can also alter a person's breathing pattern as they sleep and they have been linked to increased suicide risk.

'Meagre benefits'In this latest study, those taking the highest doses of sleeping tablets also appeared to be at greater risk of developing cancer.
The researchers say: "The meagre benefits of hypnotics, as critically reviewed by groups without financial interest, would not justify substantial risks."
They say even short-term use may not be justifiable.
But Malcolm Lader, professor of clinical psychopharmacology at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, said people should not panic as a result of the findings.
"The study needs to be replicated in a different sample and I think we need to hold judgement until we have further studies.
"What we don't want is people stopping sleeping tablets and then going through a very disturbing period of insomnia.
"People should discuss this with their GP but should not under any circumstances stop taking their medication."
Nina Barnett, of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said: "This is an important study and although it is unlikely to radically change prescribing in the immediate term, it should raise awareness and remind both patients and prescribers to the potential risks of sedative use for insomnia.
"The association between mortality and sedation is not new and this research tells us that people who took these medicines were more likely to die than people who didn't take them.
"However it does not mean that the deaths were caused by the medicine."
A spokesman for the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry said the safety of medicines was closely monitored and continued even after regulatory approval.

Selections from Natural Health News

Natural Health News: Ambien Ups Risk of Falling in Elderly

Jan 20, 2011

Sleep-aid-pills are effective in helping you to gain peaceful sleep at night and sleeping pill such s Ambien. It is a popular sleep aide, As soon as this sleeping pill is administered, it starts affecting the central nervous system ...

http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/

Natural Health News: Death and Sleeping Medication

Sep 11, 2010

Sleeping pills may increase risk of death. Pills for insomnia and anxiety 'are not candy' researchers have warned after finding the drugs are linked to an increased risk of dying. Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor. 09 Sep 2010 ...

http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/

Natural Health News: Drugs Contribute to Dementia, Delirium

Apr 01, 2009

... a drug widely used for treating urinary incontinence, tolteridine (Detrol); a nausea treatment drug, metoclopramide (Reglan); and drugs in the benzodiazepine category such as popular sleeping pills Ambien (zolpidem) and ...

http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/

Natural Health News: Looking for a Little Sleep?

Oct 23, 2005

Americans filled more than 35 million prescriptions for sleeping pills in 2004, spending $2.1 billion, Medco said, citing NIH statistics. Global Sales of Ambien, the world's most popular prescription sleep drug made by ...

Drugs Slow Elders' Recovery

These reports are of high interest to me because they relate to a situation in my own family. It is highly important to understand that as you age your ability to metabolize drugs and other substances, as well as clear their metabolites through your liver and kidneys becomes impaired.
In my mother's situation she was - for the last six years of her life - grossly over medicated, and that list of drugs included several that the research showed definitively that they should not be administered to the elderly, and especially not to elderly women.
Regardless of the data presented, neither the care center or my brother, who had POA, made any effort to act for the best interest of my mother's health and quality of life.

Sedating Drugs May Slow Elders' Recovery By Ed Susman, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today, January 15, 2010

Elderly patients sedated with morphine or haloperidol (Haldol) were less likely to to be discharged to their homes than patients given other sedatives, according to research presented here.
MIAMI BEACH -- Elderly patients sedated with morphine or haloperidol (Haldol) in surgical intensive care units were less likely to to be discharged to their homes and more likely to be discharged to a nursing facility than patients given other sedatives, often resulting in a poorer quality of life, researchers reported here.
Patients who received morphine were 2.57 times more likely to be discharged to a nursing home, rehabilitation center, or a skilled nursing facility (P=0.029), Carrie Miller, MS, CRNP of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, told attendees at the annual meeting of the Society of Critical Care Medicine.
Patients who were given haloperidol were 12.46 times more likely to be discharged to one of those facilities rather than to their home.
Similarly, the risk of having a significantly reduced function from baseline admission was five times greater if the patient had received haloperidol (P=0.044) and 2.76 times more likely if the patient had received morphine (P=0.011), Miller said.
"While older adults frequently require medications to treat pain, anxiety, and delirium, little is know about the effects these medication have on older adults' functional ability or quality of life," Miller said.
To shed some light on the question, she and her colleagues evaluated 114 patients in three surgical ICUs. Mean age was about 75, some 60% were men, and 85% were white. Overall, 37% were undergoing general surgical procedures, while 35% had undergone vascular procedures and 16% were trauma patients.
Patients' level of consciousness and delirium status were assessed daily and information about medication use was gleaned from the ICU flow sheet and the computerized administration record.
The most frequently used narcotic in the surgical ICU was fentanyl (Duragesic), administered to 77 patients; the most frequently used sedative was midazolam (Versed); and the most frequently used antipsychotic was haloperidol.
Miller and her colleagues noted that use of propofol (Diprivan) appeared to be associated with better outcomes as far as discharge to one's home was concerned.
They noted that there was "considerable discrepancy" between medication usage and dosage recorded on the patients' flow sheet and medication administration record. "Researchers and clinicians should consider that administered prn medications may not always be recorded on the nursing flow sheet," they concluded.
The study did not control for confounding variables such as the severity of illness or comorbidities that may have affected outcomes, Miller said.
"This is an interesting study," said Suzan Streichenwein, MD, a private practice geriatric psychiatrist in West Palm Beach, Fla. "It would be valuable for future studies to include the severity of illness or more specific details about the type of surgery relative to the dosages of morphine used and its influence on the discharge functional outcomes.
"Tests diagnosing mild cognitive impairment and/or dementia preop versus postop as well as the time period under anesthesia in relation to outcomes would also be helpful," said Streichenwein, who was not involved in the study.
Streichenwein told MedPage Today that other possible confounding factors require further studies in this area.

None of the clinicians had relevant financial disclosures.
Primary source: Society of Critical Care Medicine
Source reference:
Balas M, et al "Narcotic, sedative and antipsychotic medication use in older surgical intensive care unit patients" SCCM 2010; Abstract 1000.
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