An overview of insomnia reviews found evidence for selected benzodiazepines mainly over short periods, with limited harms information.
The authors included 64 systematic reviews, many rated low or critically low quality. Evidence from a high-quality review supported multiple short-term outcomes for temazepam and triazolam. Most interventions were evaluated for less than 16 weeks, and pharmacological harms data were sparse.
The overview could not determine an appropriate duration of medication therapy or fully evaluate risk-benefit balance. It also noted difficulty interpreting whether numerical outcome changes were clinically meaningful. A short-term sleep improvement should therefore not be relabeled as proof of long-term effectiveness or safety. Conversely, the evidence gap is not proof that no patient benefits. For reviewing continued treatment, separate the original symptom response from later evidence about function, adverse effects, changing need, and ongoing reassessment.
Original analysis of the supplied journal article, identified as PMC6857325.