Use of alcohol and hypnotic medication as aids to sleep among the Japanese general population.
OBJECTIVE
The present study was conducted to clarify the prevalence of the use of alcohol and hypnotic medication as sleep aids, and associated factors, in the general population in Japan.


METHODS
The survey was conducted in June 2000, using self-administered questionnaires, targeting a population that was selected randomly from among 300 communities throughout Japan. A total of 18,205 responses indicating alcohol use and 16,804 responses indicating hypnotic medication use were analyzed.


RESULTS
The prevalence of alcohol use as a sleep aid one or more times per week was 48.3% among men and 18.3% among women. The prevalence of the use of hypnotic medication one or more times per week was 4.3% among men and 5.9% among women. The prevalence of alcohol used as a sleep aid increased gradually for men and women up to age 55-59 years and 40-44 years, respectively, and then declined with increasing age thereafter. The prevalence of the use of hypnotic medication among both men and women showed a trend toward a gradual increase with age. The use of alcohol as a sleep aid was associated with "difficulty maintaining sleep," but no such problem was associated with the use of hypnotic medication.


CONCLUSIONS
Alcohol is a more popular sleep aid than hypnotic medication. The factors associated with the use of alcohol and of hypnotic medication are different.
Kaneita
Yoshitaka
Y
Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan. kaneita@med.nihon-u.ac.jp
Uchiyama
Makoto
M
Takemura
Shinji
S
Yokoyama
Eise
E
Miyake
Takeo
T
Harano
Satoru
S
Asai
Takami
T
Tsutsui
Takako
T
Kaneko
Akiyo
A
Nakamura
Hiromi
H
Ohida
Takashi
T
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D012890:Sleep / Q000187:drug effects*; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives; D000431:Ethanol