Does insomnia kill?
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness and Safety of Shugan Jieyu Capsules for the Treatment of Insomnia
Published on: February 17, 2023
Barbara Phillips1, David M Mannino
1Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY, USA. bphil95@aol.com
Study Objectives:
We investigated the prevalence and hazard ratios for insomnia complaints in a large cohort of middle-aged men and women.
Design:
The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study is a prospective study of cardiovascular disease. Using multivariate regression analysis, we predicted the likelihood of endorsing the insomnia complaints by age, sex, alcohol intake, smoking, diabetes, heart disease, menopausal status, use of hypnotics, hypertension, depressive symptoms, education level, body mass index, respiratory symptoms, and pulmonary function status. We predicted the hazard ratios (HR) of death at 6.3 +/- 1.1 year by endorsement of insomnia complaints and by hypnotic use controlling for covariates.
Setting:
North American communities.
Participants:
13563 participants aged 45 to 69 years at baseline
Interventions:
None.
Measurements And Results:
The prevalence of insomnia complaints in this cohort was 23%. Predictors of insomnia complaints were female sex (odds ratio [OR] 0.56, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.45-0.70 for men), annual family income below 50,000 dollars (OR 1.23, CI 1.09-1.40), age 40 to 49 years (OR 1.29, CI 1.11-1.50), depressive symptoms (OR 5.05, CI 4.60-5.55), heart disease (OR 1.89, CI 1.67-2.14), severe airflow obstruction (OR 1.61, CI 1.17-2.22), pulmonary symptoms (OR 1.71, CI 1.5-1.95), and restrictive lung disease (OR 1.27, CI 1.10-1.47). After controlling for covariates, insomnia complaints were not associated with an increased risk for death (OR 1.01, CI 0.85-1.21), nor was the use of hypnotics (OR 1.38, CI 0.90-2.13).
Conclusions:
In this cohort, the prevalence of insomnia complaints was 23%. After controlling for confounders, neither insomnia complaints nor hypnotic use predicted increased mortality over 6.3 years.
Related Concept Videos
Insomnia
Multiple factors contribute...
Management of Insomnia
Insufficient Sleep and Sleep Deprivation
Sleep deprivation is a more severe form of sleep loss...
CNS Depressants: Barbiturates and Benzodiazepines
Sedatives and Hypnotics Drugs: Miscellaneous Agents
Melatonin congeners like ramelteon (Rozerem) and tasimelteon (Hetlioz) selectively bind to melatonin receptors (MT1 and MT2) and thus mimic the actions of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles. Tasimelteon is primarily used for non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder, common in blind patients. They are also used to treat conditions like insomnia...
Sleepwalking and Sleep Talking
Factors that increase the likelihood of sleepwalking include sleep deprivation and alcohol consumption. Contrary to common beliefs, it is safe...