SynthesisMedicine2026
The effect of zolpidem on sleep efficiency and obstructive sleep apnea severity in OSA patients: A systematic review and meta‑analysis.
Synthesis in Medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundInsomnia and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) comorbidity is prevalent and leads to worse outcomes. While zolpidem may improve sleep in OSA, existing trials report inconsistent results on safety and efficacy. We aimed to perform a meta-analysis to systematically evaluate the effect of zolpidem in OSA patients.
methodsWe systematically searched PubMed, Medline, Embase, Cochrane's Library, Web of Science, and other online sources for related trials. Data were pooled using a random-effects model, and mean differences with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. The effects of zolpidem on sleep efficiency and severity of sleep apnea were analyzed.
results5 controlled trials (4 randomized and 1 nonrandomized) were included. All studies claimed all participants were diagnosed with OSA. Treatment with zolpidem significantly improved total sleep time compared to placebo or no-drug (MD: 0.78, 95% confidence interval: 0.19-1.37, P = .009; I2 = 38%). However, zolpidem did not alter OSA severity as shown by no systematic changes in the Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI). Total AHI, supine AHI, and AHI during non-rapid eye movement sleep or rapid eye movement sleep were unaltered on the drug night compared to the control group. Next-day sleepiness was measured in 4 studies, and the results showed no statistical difference, indicating that zolpidem was generally well tolerated with no major adverse events.
conclusionsZolpidem can substantially increase sleep duration in OSA patients without worsening AHI or overnight hypoxemia, and appears well-tolerated without a next-day hangover. These findings are limited by the small number of studies, small sample sizes, and short-term nature of interventions. Further large-scale RCTs are warranted to confirm long-term safety and efficacy.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.