Prescription sleep aid use among adults: United States, 2005-2010.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional national survey (NHANES)
What was done
Analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2005 to 2010 to determine past-month prescription sleep aid use among U.S. adults aged 20 and older by demographic factors, sleep duration, and sleep disturbances.
What was found
About 4% of U.S. adults used prescription sleep aids in the past month. Use increased with age and education and was higher in women than men (5.0% vs. 3.1%). Non-Hispanic white adults had higher usage (4.7%) than non-Hispanic black (2.5%) and Mexican-American (2.0%) adults. Use was highest among those sleeping less than 5 hours (6.0%) or 9 or more hours (5.3%). Sleep aids were used by 1 in 6 adults with a diagnosed sleep disorder and 1 in 8 adults with trouble sleeping.
Why it matters
Establishes national prevalence estimates for prescription sleep aid use across key demographic and clinical subgroups in the U.S. population.
Limits
The abstract omits sample size (n), confidence intervals, and specific drug classes. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causality, and reliance on self-report may introduce recall bias.
Cited by
- supports In the United States, approximately 10 million people used a prescription or over-the-counter sleep aid in the past month.