Multimorbidity patterns as predictors of sleeping medication use: a population-based study in women in Southern...

To explore the relationship between different patterns of multimorbidity and the use of sleeping medications in women.

Population-based cross-sectional study with 1,128 women (aged 20-69 years) in Southern Brazil. Data on sleeping medications were obtained from the question "Do you take/use any medication to be able to sleep?" and identified by the Anatomical Therapeutic and Chemical classification. Multimorbidity patterns were derived by the Principal Component Analysis of 26 chronic conditions and two obesity parameters (≥30 kg/m2; ≥40 kg/m2). The association was analyzed by Poisson regression with robust variance using different adjustment models, stratified by age.

Three multimorbidity patterns were derived: cardiometabolic, endocrine-articular, and psychosomatic. Age stratification showed a change in effect in the relationship investigated. Women under 45 years and high score of cardiometabolic and endocrine-articular patterns were about twice as likely to use sleeping medications [prevalence ratio (PR) 1.85, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.09-3.12; PR 2.04, 95%CI 1.18-3.51, respectively]. Those with psychosomatic pattern were around five times more likely [PR 4.91, 95%CI 3.00-8.04].

The study provided the first evidence on the association researched and demonstrated that young women (<45 years) with a high score of the identified patterns are up to five times more likely to use sleeping medications, configuring early use. This unprecedented finding suggests the need for greater health promotion for young adults and actions to raise awareness about risks and the clear indication of the use of sleeping medications.