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Do sleeping pills increase the risk of dementia?
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Sleeping pill: an additional risk of developing Alzheimer’s?
Some studies have shown that Alzheimer’s disease has different risk factors. Researchers recently tried to understand if the consumption of sleeping pills was one of them. They argue that taking sleeping pills regularly is a risk factor in white people, but not necessarily in black people.
79% higher risk of dementia in white participants on sleeping pills
In this study, conducted by researchers at the University of California in the United States, regarding three thousand people without dementia and aged on average 74 years were followed for nine years. Over the observation period, 20% developed dementia. But white participants who were taking often » or « almost always “sleeping pills were 79% more likely to develop dementia than those who did not use them” Never » or « rarely ». In contrast, among black participants (who, however, use these drugs much less), frequent users had a similar likelihood of developing dementia as those who abstained or rarely used them.
Despite these results, the researchers point out that inequalities and different lifestyles between white and black people can also explain these results (such as the level of income or the type of sleeping pill used).
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First-line sleep test, cognitive-behavioral therapy and melatonin
However, for the study’s first author, epidemiologist Yue Leng, patients who suffer from insomnia ” should hesitate before considering medication “. For patients facing these disorders, the first step would be to perform a sleep test in the clinic to find out if sleep apnea is the cause. Once this cause has been ruled out and actual insomnia diagnosed, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia should remain the first-line treatment “. If sleeping pills are being considered, melatonin might also be “ a safer option “, even if we have ” still needs more evidence to understand its long-term impact on health “says this specialist.
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