Falls remain by far the leading cause of injuries among adults age 65 and older in the U.S, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The January Newsletter of Worst Pills Best Pills includes an excellent article warning the elderly of the importance of reviewing medication for increasing fall risk. The article explains that:
The most recent CDC statistics reveal that during 2014, approximately 27,000 older adults died because of falls. Overall, nearly 3 million older adults were treated in emergency rooms for fall-related injuries, such as fractures and head trauma, and about 800,000 of these patients subsequently were hospitalized. The costs to Medicare to care for patients who have been injured in falls are estimated to be $31 billion annually. And for many elderly people, fall-related injuries can lead to a loss of independence and placement in an assisted-living facility or nursing home.
Many falls are preventable. In 2011, the CDC launched an initiative called STEADI — Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths, and Injuries — to reduce preventable falls in older adults. STEADI provides health care professionals with tools to screen and assess older patients for risk of falls and guidance on how to reduce this risk. A key part of the STEADI program involves health care professionals reviewing and managing patients’ medications that might increase the risk of falling.
The list of drugs that can make patients susceptible to falling is lengthy. Use of these drugs by older adults should be avoided whenever possible, and many have been designated as "Do Not Use" by Public Citizen’s Health Research Group [link added]. Older adults requiring treatment with one or more of these drugs should use the lowest dose necessary to achieve the desired clinical benefit in order to lower the risk of falling. Note that the table does not include drugs used to treat high blood pressure, all of which can increase the risk of falling.
Seniors, their family, friends, and caregivers are well-advised to review medications regularly.
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