Frequent use of hypnosedatives in elderly increases risk of dementia

Abstract

Frequent use of sleep medication (hypnosedatives) appears to increase the risk of dementia in older adults, according to findings of a US study presented in an abstract at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) 2019. The Health, Aging, and Body Composition study investigated the association between use of hypnosedatives and the risk of dementia in 3068 community-dwelling adults without dementia who 70–79 years of age. Use of hypnosedatives was assessed at baseline, and incident dementia was assessed over a 15-year follow-up period, based on use of dementia medication, data from hospitalisation records, or decline in race-specific global cognition score. While 4.8% of participants reported taking sleep medication sometimes, 5.6% reported taking sleep medication often or almost always including 2.7% of blacks and 7.7% of whites. Overall, after adjustment for demographic variables, depressive symptoms, comorbidities and APOE4 genotype, patients who took hypnosedatives often or almost always were significantly more likely to develop dementia than those who never or rarely took them (hazard ratio [HR] 1.43; 95% CI 1.01, 2.02). However, while an increased risk of dementia was found in white patients (HR 1.79; 95% CI 1.21, 2.66), no increased risk was found in black patients (HR 0.84; 95% CI 0.38, 1.83; p=0.048 for interaction). Further studies are needed to examine the cognitive effects of different types of sleep medications and to understand potential mechanisms, commented the investigators.