2025 American Academy of Neurology Abstract Website

Nuris Torres Argota¹, Hamilton Roberto Moreira de Oliveira Carrico², Helen Beckert³, Andressa Cardoso⁴, Francisco Jose Germano Hennemann⁵, Barbara Antonia Talah⁶, Julia Mello⁷, Francisco de Moraes⁸
¹Santa Casa de Miseric Hospital in Porto Alegre, ²University of Southern Santa Catarina, ³Federal University Of Paraná, ⁴July Nine University, ⁵University of Taubaté., ⁶Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná, ⁷Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, ⁸Federal University of Para

Objective:

Quantify the magnitude of the use of hypnotics to present esophagus cancer.

Background:

Hypnotic medications are widely used to treat insomnia and other sleep disorders. However, there is a risk of developing secondary diseases, especially cancer of the esophagus and gastrointestinal tract, which has not yet been fully elucidated.

Design/Methods:

PubMed, Embase, Cochrane and Web of Science were searched for RCTs comparing the use of hypnotics for the development of esophageal cancer. A random-effects model was employed to check the odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Statistical analysis was performed using R software 4.3.1.

Results:

A total of 6 studies were included in this meta-analysis, 3 cohorts and 3 case-control, and the hypnotics used were benzodiazepines and zolpidem. Of the total number of patients, 4364 used benzodiazepine and 27963 were part of the control group; while 1047 used Zolpidem, with 2924 control cases. The average follow-up period and age were approximately 12 ± 2 years and 51.7 ± 65 years. Comparing the results between the studies, there is a risk of esophagus cancer of those patients that used hypnotics (OR 1.3498; 95% Cl 1.06 - 1.70)

Conclusions:

In this meta-analysis of 6 studies, the use of hypnotics was associated with an increased incidence of esophageal cancer. However, the limited number of studies and the lack of sub-groups information suggest the need for studies in the future.