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Self‐report of memory and affective dysfunction in association with medication use in a sample of individuals with chronic sleep disturbance
Author(s) -
McAndrews Mary Pat,
Kayumov Leonid,
Phillipson Ron,
Shapiro Colin M.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
human psychopharmacology: clinical and experimental
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.461
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1099-1077
pISSN - 0885-6222
DOI - 10.1002/hup.226
Subject(s) - association (psychology) , sleep disorder , disturbance (geology) , sleep (system call) , psychology , clinical psychology , sample (material) , psychiatry , medicine , audiology , cognition , psychotherapist , computer science , biology , paleontology , chemistry , chromatography , operating system
Benzodiazepines produce memory disturbance after acute administration. It is not clear whether chronic use of benzodiazepines is hazardous to memory processes. Epidemiological data indicate that a large proportion (10–30 per cent) of individuals with sleep dysfunction take hypnotic aids for a year or longer. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate self‐reported memory dysfunction in a sample of individuals who considered their sleep disturbance sufficiently severe to seek investigation in sleep clinics. It was hypothesized that individuals taking benzodiazepines for sleep would report greater perceived everyday memory failures than individuals taking other sleep aids or no medication. Questionnaires were given to 368 individuals referred into the study by investigators in six sleep disorders clinics. All respondents completed a lengthy (700‐item) questionnaire, which included scales assessing memory difficulties, affective status and sleep disturbance. Respondents also reported any medication use for sleep problems and duration of use of the current drug. Information on medication use was reported by 289 participants. Fifty‐six per cent of respondents reported using some form of psychoactive medication (antidepressants, benzodiazepines, Zopiclone). Twenty‐two per cent reported using no medication. Analysis of covariance showed that these medications had no detectable effect on subjective memory difficulties during chronic use, F (4,226)=1·34, p =0·25. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.