A comparison of complex sleep behaviors with two short-acting Z-hypnosedative drugs in nonpsychotic patients

Abstract

Li-Fen Chen,1 Ching-En Lin,1–3 Yu-Ching Chou,4 Wei-Chung Mao,1,5 Yi-Chyan Chen,1–3 Nian-Sheng Tzeng1,6 1Department of Psychiatry, Tri-Service General Hospital, School of Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei City, Taiwan; 2Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital, The Buddhist Medical Foundation, Taipei, Taiwan; 3School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan; 4School of Public Health, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei City, Taiwan; 5Institute of Brain Science, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei City, Taiwan; 6Student Counseling Center, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei City, Taiwan Objective: Complex sleep behaviors (CSBs) are classified as “parasomnias” in the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, Second Edition (ICSD-2). To realize the potential danger after taking two short-acting Z-hypnosedative drugs, we estimated the incidence of CSBs in nonpsychotic patients in Taiwan. Methods: Subjects (N = 1,220) using zolpidem or zopiclone were enrolled from the psychiatric outpatient clinics of a medical center in Taiwan over a 16-month period in 2006–2007. Subjects with zolpidem (N = 1,132) and subjects with zopiclone (N = 88) were analyzed. All subjects completed a questionnaire that included demographic data and complex sleep behaviors after taking hypnotics. Results: Among zolpidem and zopiclone users, 3.28% of patients reported incidents of somnambulism or amnesic sleep-related behavior problems. The incidence of CSBs with zolpidem and zopiclone were 3.27%, and 3.41%, respectively, which was significantly lower than other studies in Taiwan. Conclusion: These results serve as a reminder for clinicians to make inquiries regarding any unusual performance of parasomnic activities when prescribing zolpidem or zopiclone. Keywords: parasomnia, somnambulism, amnesic sleep-related behavior, sleepwalking, zolpidem, zopiclone