Drugs & aging
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Comparative Study
Different risk-increasing drugs in recurrent versus single fallers: are recurrent fallers a distinct population?
Polypharmacy, and specifically the use of multiple fall-risk-increasing drugs (FRID), have been associated with increased risk of falling in older age. However, it is not yet clear whether the known set of FRIDs can be extrapolated to recurrent fallers, since they form a distinct group of more vulnerable older persons with different characteristics. ⋯ Known FRIDs, such as psychotropic drugs, also increase the risk of recurrent falls. However, we found four relatively new classes that showed significant association with recurrent falls. In part, these classes may act as markers of frailty and comorbidity, or they may reflect differences in the risk factors affecting the older, frailer population that tends to sustain recurrent falls. Further investigation is needed to elucidate causes and ways to prevent recurrent falls.