ArticleNeuropsychiatric disease and treatment2026
Z-Drug Use and All-Cause Mortality: A Meta-Analysis of Observational Cohort Studies.
Article in Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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6 authors.
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Abstract
Introduction: Non-benzodiazepine hypnotic drugs known as z-drugs (including zolpidem, eszopiclone, zopiclone, zaleplon) are commonly prescribed for insomnia patients worldwide. Z-drugs have been thought to be safer than benzodiazepines; however, several studies have raised controversy over the side effects of z-drug. This meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the association between z-drugs and all-cause mortality. Methods: To evaluate the association between z-drugs and all-cause mortality, we conducted a meta-analysis of observational cohort studies identified through PubMed, Embase, and Scopus up to 14 March 2025. The study populations included clinical patients. The pooled hazard ratio of all-cause mortality was calculated using a random-effects model with corresponding 95% confidence of intervals (CI). Sensitivity analysis and subgroup analyses were also performed. Results: Nine cohort studies involving 2,018,397 participants were included for the meta-analysis. Z-drug use was significantly associated with an increased risk of overall mortality (HR = 1.600; 95% CI 1.027-2.491; P = 0.038), with evidence of substantial heterogeneity (I = 99.642%, Discussion: This meta-analysis showed a positive association between z-drug use and all-cause mortality; however, the substantial between-study heterogeneity (I
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