Falls, Fractures in Dementia Patients Linked To 'Strong Sleeping' Pills

For many years, dementia patients experience sleep disturbances which are not healthy for them. You may notice from a loved one that they take naps during the day on their seats or when you leave them for a while.

According to the National Center for Biotechnological Information, people with dementia experience disproportionate daytime sleepiness due to uneven sleep at night. As a result, they take a short time of sleep or naps to make up for the disturbances they have at night that made them stay wide awake. 

ALSO READ: 5 Things You Can Do Personally to Lower Your Risk of Dementia

Due to this condition, experts are usually prescribing Z-drugs, or a strong kind of sleeping pills to make sure they get a good night sleep. Nursing them might come challenging and these drugs might help. However, British researchers from the University of East Anglia (UEA) discovered a linkage of the strong sleeping pills or Z-drugs, which may increase the risk of falls, fractures, and stroke to your loved ones who are with dementia. 

In the university release,  UEA-Norwich Medical School clinical professor Chris Fox said that Z-drugs are commonly prescribed to people to help people sleep; however, these medicines are not licensed for dementia and they have been associated with hostile events such as fracture risks and falls to elderly. 

Following research conducted by UEA in 2018, the university's researchers discover that Z-drugs are more likely to cause a fractured bone in people with dementia. Fox, who was also a proponent of the 2018 study, said that people with dementia are especially vulnerable and Z-drugs are particularly harmful to them. With their latest research, Fox said in the release that they want to find out how they affect people with dementia who are prescribed Z-drugs to help ease their sleeping problems. 

READ ALSO: Study Suggest Road Networks Contribute To Why People With Dementia Go Missing

Methods and Results of the Study

The UEA release said that the research team analyzed the hostile events for 3,532 patients who were prescribed with Z-drugs, comparing them to those suffering from sleep disturbance who are not prescribed with sedatives, and patients who were prescribed with benzodiazepines.  

Fox interpreted the results in the release saying that patients prescribed with Z-drugs, 17% of them were given higher doses, which made them discover that the patients on higher doses of Z-drugs have more risks of falling and bone fractures, specifically on the hips, and stroke compared with patients who are consuming any medication to help them ease their sleep disturbance.

He also noted in the release that those who are in lower dosage are not found to have an increased risk of hostile outcomes. Fox stresses in the release that their research indicates that a higher dose of Z-drugs sleeping pills should not be administered, if possible, in people with dementia. He also added that patients already taking a higher dosage of Z-drugs should not stop taking their medication. However, they recommend seeing their physician for a review. 

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