“Even 10,000 yearly excess deaths caused by hypnotics would be too many,” they said, concluding that it is prudent to weigh the evidence of mortality risks, as shown in this and 24 prior studies, against the meager benefits of hypnotics, in order to reconsider whether even short-term use is sufficiently safe.
Dr. Kripke reported a family interest in an investment corporation, which has a small percentage of its assets in stock of Sanofi-Aventis and Johnson & Johnson. The other authors reported having no relevant financial disclosures.