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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| The use of non-prescription sleep products in the elderly | | Author(s) | Beth A Sproule, Usoa E Busto, Carmen Buckle |
| Journal title | International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol 14, no 10, October 1999 |
| Pages | pp 851-857 |
| Keywords | Drugs ; Sleep disorders ; Canada. |
| Annotation | The use, perceived effectiveness and toxicity of non-prescription sleep products were assessed in 176 older Canadians (mean age 74 years, 59% female), 84 (48%) had indicated that they had used one or more therapies for sleep in the past year. These included non-prescription products (50% of therapies), prescription products (17%) and non-drug activities such as walking or drinking milk (34%). For the 47 who had used non-prescription items, the most frequently used products were: dimenhydinate (21%), acetaminophen (19%), diphenhydramine (15%), alcohol (13%) and herbal products (11%). Most took them at least one day a week (79%) and 32% took them daily. These products improved sleep latency (mean 32 vs 61 mins), number of nocturnal awakenings (mean 2 vs 3 awakenings) and total hours of sleep (mean 6.6 vs 5.4 hours). Mild side effects were reported by 35 respondents, the most common being dry mouth (N=22) and daytime drowsiness (N=13). Respondents were taking an average of four other medications concurrently. Most products, although not marketed for sleep, were perceived to be efficacious; however, the potential for drug interaction is high, and needs further research. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-000114216 A |
| Classmark | LLD: CTS: 7S |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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