NEW YORK, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Senior citizens who use sleeping pills are twice as likely to have side effects as gain a good night's rest, University of Toronto researchers say.
Researcher Usoa Busto said she was surprised by the results of the study, which examined 24 prior clinical studies and was conducted without industry funding.
"A lot of people take (sleeping pills) forever, and when you look at the benefit as opposed to the risks, you have to ask why they don't quit," Busto told The Wall Street Journal.
Among side effects experienced by seniors were short-term memory loss, headaches, daytime fatigue, nausea and dizziness, and a higher incidence of falls and auto crashes, said the study published in the British Medical Journal.
Busto, however, said sleeping pills help some senior citizens and doctors must provide individualized treatment.
Prescription-drug benefit manager Medco Health Solutions estimates 2.2 million elderly U.S. residents took sleeping pills last year -- twice the rate of people younger than 65, the newspaper reported.
