Prevalence and associations of multiple hypnotic prescriptions in a clinical sample.

Study Objectives: We examined the prevalence of multiple hypnotic prescriptions and its association with clinical and demographic characteristics from the electronic health record (EHR) in the Mayo Clinic Biobank.

Methods: Adult participants enrolled in the Mayo Clinic Biobank with an EHR number of ≥ 1 year were included (n = 52,940). Clinical and demographic characteristics were compared between participants who were and were not prescribed any hypnotic approved for insomnia by the US Food and Drug Administration and/or trazodone and in those prescribed a single vs multiple (≥ 2) hypnotics. A phenotype-based, phenome-wide association study (PheWAS) examining associations between hypnotic prescriptions and diagnoses across the EHR was performed adjusting for demographic and other confounders.

Results: A total of 17,662 (33%) participants were prescribed at least 1 hypnotic and 5,331 (10%) received ≥ 2 hypnotics. Participants who were prescribed a hypnotic were more likely to be older, female, White, with a longer EHR, and a greater number of diagnostic codes (all < .001). Those with multiple hypnotic prescriptions were more likely to be younger, female, with a longer EHR, and a greater number of diagnostic codes (all < .001) compared with those prescribed a single hypnotic. The PheWAS revealed that participants with multiple hypnotic prescriptions had higher rates of mood disorders, anxiety disorders, suicidal ideation, restless legs syndrome, and chronic pain (all < 1 e).

Conclusions: Receiving multiple hypnotic prescriptions is common and associated with a greater prevalence of psychiatric, chronic pain, and sleep-related movement disorders. Future studies should examine potential genetic associations with multiple hypnotic prescriptions to personalize treatments for chronic insomnia.

Citation: Kolla BP, Mansukhani MP, Chakravorty S, Frank JA, Coombes BJ. Prevalence and associations of multiple hypnotic prescriptions in a clinical sample. . 2024;20(5):793-800.