Elderly persons who use psychotropic medications such as antidepressants and sedatives may be at greater risk for falls, according to a report in the November 23, 2009 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
This finding is significant, says the authors, because more than 30% of seniors will fall at least once a year, and falls and their complications are the fifth-leading cause of death among the elderly in the developed world.
John C. Woolcott, M.A., of University of British Columbia and Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcomes Sciences, Vancouver, Canada, and his associates analyzed 22 previous studies involving 79,081 participants older than age 60 and evaluated nine drug types: antihypertensive agents; diuretics; beta-blockers; sedatives and hypnotics; neuroleptics and antipsychotics; antidepressants; benzodiazepines; narcotics; and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
After pooling the data and adjusting the results for other factors, Woolcott's team found that the use of sedatives and hypnotics, antidepressants and benzodiazepines were significantly associated with the risk of falling in the elderly.
The authors urge caution in prescribing these medications to older patients and hope that future research will shed further light on fall risk and help physicians determine how they can best prescribe medications to limit this risk.
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I’ve been taking Effexor for years. For the past few years, I fall a LOT. I have a broken collar bone right now from a fall off my back porch while it was dark.
When I fall, I can’t get up. I have a neurological disorder that began in early 2000 and is incredibly painful.
I had a home health care physical therapist who told me I had a balance disorder due to my inability to walk much because of the painful neuro disorder.
Interesting article…now, I’m not sure whether it’s that or my antipressant.
Please don’t encourage fright to limit the correct usage of medication for those over 70 ( as I am ). Until I finally conceded the lifetime need for Zoloft and regular daily (4x) dosage of .5 mg of Xanax, as prescribed by my psychiatrist, my life was a steady battle against panic attacks and phobic disorders. I am a full-time working woman who manages to face the daily grinds with the help of these chemicals. I resisted their usage for too many years and have developed high blood pressure, cancer and multiple disorders because I did not want to admit that I needed such “crutches”to help me survive. If you are not an abuser, do not resist the prescribed dosages. They can make life bearable and productive. I did suffer the medical prejudices against their use and have discovered it to be the ONLY way for a great many lifetime sufferers. One can avoid falls through careful activity and athletic training.