Higher-dose uses of zolpidem will increase the subsequent risk of developing benign brain tumors.
This study identified 37,810 patients with anxiety or sleep disorder (mean age=53.2 years, SD=16.0 years) who had zolpidem prescribed for at least 2 months from January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2009. Another non-zolpidem cohort was selected by 1:1 matching with the zolpidem cohort on the estimated probability (propensity score) of being treated. The zolpidem cohort had a higher incidence of benign brain tumors compared with the non-zolpidem cohort, particularly for elderly patients. The matched propensity score analysis showed that the highest risk of benign brain tumors occurred in participants with zolpidem exposure ≥520 mg/year (hazard ratio=1.85, 95% confidence interval=1.21-2.82) compared with those not taking zolpidem.
From the Dept. of Neurosurgery, Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital, Hualien, Taiwan (TH); the College of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan (TH); the Institute of Biostatistics, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan (Y-FL); the Management Office for Health Data, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan (C-LL, S-NC, F-CS); the Dept. of Nuclear Medicine and PET Center, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan (C-HK); and the Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Science and School of Medicine, College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan (F-CS, C-HK).
Tomor
T
Harnod
Yu-Fen
YF
Li
Cheng-Li
CL
Lin
Shih-Ni
SN
Chang
Fung-Chang
FC
Sung
Chia-Hung
CH
Kao
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000188:drug therapy; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D058785:GABA-A Receptor Agonists / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011725:Pyridines / Q000009:adverse effects*; D017678:Sex Distribution; D000077334:Zolpidem
D058785:GABA-A Receptor Agonists; D011725:Pyridines; D000077334:Zolpidem