The sleeping pills that ‘can double risk of breaking bone’

SLEEPING tablets taken by millions of people in Britain could double the chances of breaking a bone by increasing the likelihood of a fall, major research shows.

The risk of a fracture soared in those relying on the drugs to get a good night’s sleep.

The pills are thought to add to daytime drowsiness in those with existing sleep problems. Elderly people are most in danger, scientists found, but even those in their fifties and early sixties could be affected.

Experts behind the latest findings warn they are significant because they show newer sleeping pills – originally thought to be safer than previous generations of tablets – are potentially even more dangerous.

An estimated one in ten people in the UK regularly use sleeping tablets. Doctors prescribe around £50million of pills every year. But they have been dogged by safety concerns. In 2013, scientists warned certain drugs, known as Z-hypnotics, increased the risk of heart attacks by up to 50 per cent.

The brand names for these drugs in the UK are Stilnoct, Zimovane and Sonata and annual prescriptions total around five million.

Last year, Finnish scientists found taking sleeping tablets at least twice a week trebled the risk of lung cancer.

The latest findings, in the journal Age and Ageing, are likely to add to concerns because broken bones in the elderly are a major problem for the NHS as the population ages. The health service already spends £4.6million a day treating fractures caused by falls.

Hip fractures alone cost hospitals over £1billion a year.

A team of researchers at Keele University trawled through patient records from over 300 GP surgeries. They identified nearly 3,500 people aged over 45 who were prescribed sleeping tablets for insomnia.

The drugs included older types – such as diazepam – as well as the newer ‘Z-drugs’ which have become increasingly popular in recent years because they are thought to have fewer

‘A cause for concern’

side-effects and are less addictive. The third drug they studied was melatonin – often touted as a cure for jet lag.

It works by boosting levels of a hormone which is naturally produced by the body to regulate sleeping patterns.

Melatonin prescriptions in England have doubled to nearly half a million a year since 2011 as it is considered potentially the safest sleep drug of all.

The researchers compared those on all sleeping drugs with similar-aged patients who did not take them.

The results showed those on Z-drugs were twice as likely to break a bone.

Taking melatonin increased the risks by 90 per cent and diazepam by 70 per cent.

When experts then took into account patients’ existing illnesses that might also add to the risk of a fall – such as arthritis, epilepsy or poor eyesight – the risks reduced.

But taking sleeping pills still made it significantly more likely there would be a fall resulting in a snapped wrist, arm or leg.

Most victims were in their mid-sixties and had been on the drugs for about a year. In a report on the findings researchers said: ‘Falls and fractures are a major health issue for older adults.

‘One study reported that more than 30 per cent of people over 65 fall each year and in half of the cases falls are recurrent. So drugs that increase the propensity to fall are a cause for concern.’

They added that doctors should be alert to the risks of melatonin in particular – especially as its popularity is rising.

‘The main finding is both Z-drugs and melatonin were associated with fracture risk and are no safer than benzodiazepines (diazepam).

‘Given the caution now attached to the prescribing of hypnotic drugs, similar considerations should now be attached to melatonin.’