MORTALITY HAZARD ASSOCIATED WITH PRESCRIPTION HYPNOTICS

Background: The American Cancer Society's Cancer Prevention Study II w as a large survey designed primarily to examine cancer risks such as c igarette smoking. From the same survey and methods, data on usage of ' 'prescription sleeping pills'' in 1982 were examined, Methods: Standar dized mortality ratios were computed. Because sleeping pill use could be a proxy for other risk factors, Cox proportional hazards models wer e computed to control for possible confounding factors as extensively as the data permitted Results: Men and women who reported faking presc ription sleeping pills 30+ times in the past month had standardized mo rtality ratios of 3.18 and 2.82, respectively; controlling for 10-year age groups (p < 0.001). The standardized mortality ratios for usage 1 -29 times/month were 1.8 and 1.48, respectively (p < 0.001). In propor tional hazards models that controlled for 30 other risk factors and co morbidities simultaneously, the excess mortality risk associated with usage 30+ times per month remained significant, but hazard ratios were reduced to 1.35 for men and 1.22 for women, Conclusions: Use of hypno tics was associated with excess mortality. This methodology could not determine if hypnotic compounds caused the risks associated with their use, nor could the risks of individual compounds be determined Since millions of Americans are currently taking hypnotics, longterm control led trials are urgently needed to further guide both patients and phys icians. (C) 1998 Society of Biological Psychiatry.