The New York Times reported Oct. 19 that Medco Health Solutions made the estimate by examining its own prescription-drug data. Fifteen percent of the prescriptions were for young patients who also receive medication for attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder. The FDA has not approved any use of sleep medications for children under age 18.

"It leads you to wonder whether these children are being treated for insomnia caused by hyperactivity or whether the medication itself causes the insomnia," said Robert Epstein, Medco's chief medical officer.

Older patients were more likely to take sleeping pills than younger ones, and females were twice as likely to get the drugs than males. "Although the elderly are still the most frequent users of sleeping aids, the evidence found in this study shows that younger adults and children are starting to use these medications with even greater frequency," Epstein said.

Some experts tied the increase in use to increased marketing of prescription sleep aids by pharmaceutical companies.

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