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Article

Risk of Falls Associated with Long-Acting Benzodiazepines or Tricyclic Antidepressants Use in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Nationwide Population-Based Case–Crossover Study

1
Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Korea
2
College of Nursing Science, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Korea
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(14), 8564; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148564
Submission received: 29 April 2022 / Revised: 6 July 2022 / Accepted: 12 July 2022 / Published: 13 July 2022

Abstract

Background: Falls are common in older adults and increase in recent years. This study aimed to examine the risk of falls associated with long-acting benzodiazepines (BZDs) or tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) use in community-dwelling older adults. Methods: A nationwide population-based case–crossover design was used. We screened information on 6,370,275 fall or fall fracture cases among community-dwelling elderly patients from the database of the national health insurance data warehouse in South Korea. We extracted the data of elderly patients who visited the hospital for a fall and were diagnosed with the first fall or fall fracture after prescription of long-acting BZDs (n = 1805) or TCAs (n = 554). The study used conditional logistic regression analysis to analyze the associations and stratified analysis by gender and age group to control for their confounding effects. Results: Risk of falls or fall fractures increased by more than two times after taking long-acting BZDs (odds ratio [OR] = 2.16; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.85–2.52) or TCAs (OR = 2.13; 95% CI = 1.62–2.83). The longer the prescription period of both, the higher the risk of falls or fall fractures was (≥49 days for long-acting BZDs vs. ≥ 56 days for TCAs). Conclusions: Long-acting BZDs or TCAs should be avoided or prescribed for a shorter duration based on these adverse effects. Health care providers should focus on fall prevention practices in older adults who take such drugs.
Keywords: benzodiazepine; tricyclic antidepressant; adverse effect; falls; older adults benzodiazepine; tricyclic antidepressant; adverse effect; falls; older adults

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MDPI and ACS Style

Na, I.; Seo, J.; Park, E.; Lee, J. Risk of Falls Associated with Long-Acting Benzodiazepines or Tricyclic Antidepressants Use in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Nationwide Population-Based Case–Crossover Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 8564. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148564

AMA Style

Na I, Seo J, Park E, Lee J. Risk of Falls Associated with Long-Acting Benzodiazepines or Tricyclic Antidepressants Use in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Nationwide Population-Based Case–Crossover Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(14):8564. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148564

Chicago/Turabian Style

Na, Inyoung, Junyoung Seo, Eunjin Park, and Jia Lee. 2022. "Risk of Falls Associated with Long-Acting Benzodiazepines or Tricyclic Antidepressants Use in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Nationwide Population-Based Case–Crossover Study" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 14: 8564. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148564

APA Style

Na, I., Seo, J., Park, E., & Lee, J. (2022). Risk of Falls Associated with Long-Acting Benzodiazepines or Tricyclic Antidepressants Use in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Nationwide Population-Based Case–Crossover Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(14), 8564. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148564

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