Study Finds Higher Risk of Death with Ambien, Other Sleeping Pills
Individuals who take Ambien or Lunesta could be more than five times likely to die within two and a half years than someone who does not take a sleep aid, according to the findings of a new study.
Researchers from the Scripps Clinic Virterbi Family Sleep Center in La Jolla, California, and the Jackson Hole Center for Preventative Medicine in Jackson, Wyoming, looked at a class of drugs known as hypnotics and evaluated the rates of death and cancer among users.
According to findings published last week in the British Medical Journal, users not only face an increased risk of death with Ambien and other sleeping medications, but may also face an increased cancer risk as well.
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Learn MoreAmbien (zolpidem) is a prescription medication manufactured by Sanofi-Aventis, which is one of the best selling drugs in the United States. It is heavily marketed through direct to consumer advertisements to help people fall asleep and stay asleep with an extended release version.
The medication is part of a class of drugs known as hypnotics or sporifics, which induce sleep. They are typically prescribed to treat insomnia, but are also sometimes used as anesthesia. In addition to Ambien. the class also includes Lunesta, Restoril, Sonata, barbiturates and sedative antihistamines.
An estimated 6% to 10% of the adult population used one of these medications at some point in 2010, making it one of the most widely used classes of drugs in the United States.
Since 1979, some studies have suggested that those who take hypnotics had a higher death rate than those who did not.
The latest research looked at a database on patients in the Geisinger Health System (GHS), which serves about 2.5 million people in 41 mostly rural counties of Pennsylvania. The researchers narrowed that to 10,531 patients who had been prescribed a sleep drug and compared them to 23,676 people who had not. They found that people who took more than 132 doses per year were 5.3 times more likely to die in the next 2.5 years than those who did not take the drugs. Those who took 18 or fewer doses per year were still 3.6 times more likely to die than non-users. Additionally, those prescribed to take hypnotics were 35% more likely to be diagnosed with cancer.
The research does not look at how the subjects died, but it did control for health problems like asthma, obesity and diabetes that increased the risk of death. However, there was no data that could link the drugs directly to the deaths or explain the difference in death rates.
According to the researchers conclusions, Ambien, Lunesta and similar drugs may have been associated with 320,000 to 507,000 excess deaths in the U.S. in 2010 alone. But the causes of those deaths is not reported in the study.
“We cannot be certain what portion of the mortality associated with hypnotics may have been attributable to these drugs, but the consistency of our estimates across a spectrum of health and disease suggests that the mortality effect of hypnotics was substantial,” the researchers concluded. “Even 10,000 excess deaths caused by hypnotics would be too many.”
The researchers called for a randomized clinical trial of sufficient duration and size seeking definitive evidence for or against the mortality rate of sleep drugs.
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6 Comments
BonnieJuly 14, 2022 at 2:18 am
I have been on Ambien for over 8 years and recently was off of them for two weeks. I tool 1 and could not fall asleep so under the influence took 1/2 of another, within a couple of hours..4:30am I tried to leave home to go to work, my husband would not let me, I tried again at 5:30am, he still would not let me go but the 3rd time at 6:30am, even though I wasn't acting like I normally would, he sai[Show More]I have been on Ambien for over 8 years and recently was off of them for two weeks. I tool 1 and could not fall asleep so under the influence took 1/2 of another, within a couple of hours..4:30am I tried to leave home to go to work, my husband would not let me, I tried again at 5:30am, he still would not let me go but the 3rd time at 6:30am, even though I wasn't acting like I normally would, he said I convinced him to let me go. I drive about a mile down the road, swerved to not hit another car, crashed my car and then called him. By the time he got there, there were cops on the scene and they told my husband that I was wondering in the middle of a highway (during morning traffic). Needless to say and more embarrassing to say, I was taken to jail and placed on suicide watch. HOW CAN WE EVER IMAGINE THESE PERSCRIBED MEDICATIONS WILL MAKE YOU ACT THIS WAY WITH ABSOLUTELY NO RECOLLECTION OF THE ENTIRE EVENT. I'M ALMOST 57 AND FEEL STUPID FOR DOING ANY OF IT AND NOT REMEMBERING!!!! I COULD HAVE KILLED SOMEONE OR BEEN KILLED MYSELF!!!
BonnieDecember 12, 2012 at 9:51 pm
My husband was murdered on that horrible drug..........he was on it for 3 weeks.........10mg and the doctor said I can take him off immediately and 5 days later he ended his life................I am suing anyone I can get my hands on........I hope the company rots in hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JessieApril 21, 2012 at 11:03 pm
I have been taking Ambein (generic) for about 4 or 5 years. I was informed the first time about 2 years that you are not suppose to take it only 5 to 6 weeks. As a matter of fact, I was told that it was not to be taken over 6 months but I had already been taking it for 2 or 3 years. Duh! It was already too late to try something else but I still tried Trazodone (100%) and it was like taking ca[Show More]I have been taking Ambein (generic) for about 4 or 5 years. I was informed the first time about 2 years that you are not suppose to take it only 5 to 6 weeks. As a matter of fact, I was told that it was not to be taken over 6 months but I had already been taking it for 2 or 3 years. Duh! It was already too late to try something else but I still tried Trazodone (100%) and it was like taking candy. Now I am addicted to them and I am screwed. The thing is I agree it should be taken off the market but what about those people like myself that is addicted? It could kill anybody if you go off them abruptly. I certainly don't want to die.
travisApril 6, 2012 at 8:57 pm
i have taken lunesta and found that i have had alot of blackouts, well thats what my wife would call them. i cant believe these are considered a early death warrant. wow 5.5 more percent to get cancer or die in 2 to 3 years of taking this. the warning label should have been a little longer.
Kelvin in ILMarch 19, 2012 at 9:30 pm
I went sleep driving and the Police came accross me in the middle of night and took me to a local E.R. to be check out and I was animitteed for 72 hours from taking Lunesta, it was real scary out there I did not know what was going on one little bit I am glad that my local Police were there and cared
RitaMarch 15, 2012 at 1:06 am
My mother entered the hospital with unknown problem, was given ambien while there, and died in the hospital. It was determined that she had cancer, but suffered restless while on Ambien. She was given the drug on a Friday and died on Tuesday. Is there an possibility this had anything to do with her death?