Abstract
It has been reported that the prevalence of sleep disturbances increases with advancing age. Elderly patients, while being the main candidates for hypnotic therapy, are also pharmacologically susceptible to potential adverse effects. In today's busy practices, however, hypnotics tend to be readily initiated without adequate communication of their risks and benefits. We therefore investigated the relationship between hypnotic use, predominantly benzodiazepines, and health problems of community-dwelling elderly through a PubMed database search in order to obtain evidence on the risks and benefits of these drugs and contribute to their appropriate use. The results indicated that although short-term hypnotic use can improve sleep quality, the magnitude of the effect is small, and hypnotic use can increase the risk of developing dementia and fractures or injuries due to accidental falls. In addition, there is little evidence about long-term effectiveness of hypnotics. Clinicians should weigh the risks and short-term benefits of hypnotic use to appropriately manage sleep problems in the elderly.
