Experiences of violence and the use of sleep-inducing medicines: a population-based study

This study aimed to verify the prevalence of sleep-inducing medicine use and its association with violence experiences among women.

A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2022 in Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil, with 1,086 women aged 18 or older who had an intimate partner in the 24 months before the research. The outcome was the use of sleep-inducing medications and the independent variables was sociodemographic and economic characteristics, experiences of violence including, childhood sexual violence and intimate partner violence. We evaluated data descriptively, adopting 95% confidence intervals, Pearson's chi-square test or Fisher's exact test, and Poisson regression analysis.

The prevalence of lifetime use of sleep-inducing medicine was 37.2%, and the prevalence of current use was 18.4%. The lifetime or current use of sleep-inducing medicine was associated with age 60 years and above, not being in a marital relationship, having experienced sexual violence in childhood, and having suffered intimate partner violence (IPV) during their lifetime.

We conclude that socioeconomic profile and exposure to violence are related to an increased odds of using sleep-inducing medicine.