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. 2011 Aug;101(8):1429-33.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2010.300014. Epub 2011 Jun 16.

The medicalization of sleeplessness: a public health concern

Mairead Eastin Moloney  1 , Thomas R Konrad, Catherine R Zimmer
Affiliations

The medicalization of sleeplessness: a public health concern

Mairead Eastin Moloney et al. Am J Public Health. 2011 Aug.

Abstract

Sleeplessness, a universal condition with diverse causes, may be increasingly diagnosed and treated (or medicalized) as insomnia. We examined the trend in sleeplessness complaints, diagnoses, and prescriptions of sedative hypnotics in physician office visits from 1993 to 2007. Consistent with the medicalization hypothesis, sleeplessness complaints and insomnia diagnoses increased over time and were far outpaced by prescriptions for sedative hypnotics. Insomnia may be a public health concern, but potential overtreatment with marginally effective, expensive medications with nontrivial side effects raises definite population health concerns.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Sleeplessness-related trends of complaint, insomnia diagnosis, benzodiazepine (BDZ) and nonbenzodiazepine sedative hypnotic (NBSH) prescription as a result of physician office visits: United States, 1993–2007.
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