Conclusions The use of sedatives and hypnotics and antidepressants including tricyclic antidepressants , selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors , and serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors appears to be related with an increased risk of falls .
It is not clear if the use of antihypertensive medications is associated with the risk of falls in older people
Purpose Falls are an important public health problem in older people .
Medication use is considered a risk factor for falls .
This study systematic ally review ed recent studies to determine the medications that might be associated with the risk of falling in older people .
Falls in very old people: the population-based Umeå 85+ study in Sweden.
The aim of this study was to describe incidences of falls and fall-related injuries , and to identify predisposing factors for falls in very old people in a prospect i ve population -based follow-up study for falls . The study is part of the Umeå 85 + Study which includes half of the population aged 85 , and the total population aged 90 and > or = 95 ( -103 ) , in Umeå , Sweden . Of the 253 people interviewed , 220 ( 87 % ) were followed up for  falls for 6 months , of whom 109 lived in ordinary and 111 in institutional housing . A comprehensive geriatric baseline assessment was made through interviews and testing during home visits . Forty percent of the participants did fall a total 304 times , corresponding to 2.17 falls per Person Year ( PY ) . It occurred 0.83 injuries per PY , including 0.14 fractures per PY . In a Cox regression analysis , the independent explanatory risk factors for time to first fall were dependency in activities of daily living ( ADL ) , thyroid disorders , treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ( SSRIs )  and occurrence of falls in the preceding year . It could be predicted that every seventh participant and every third of the people who did fall would suffer a fracture within 1 year . ADL , thyroid disorders and treatment with SSRIs should be considered in fall prevention programmes
Conclusions The use of sedatives and hypnotics and antidepressants including tricyclic antidepressants , selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors , and serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors appears to be related with an increased risk of falls .
It is not clear if the use of antihypertensive medications is associated with the risk of falls in older people
Purpose Falls are an important public health problem in older people .
Medication use is considered a risk factor for falls .
This study systematic ally review ed recent studies to determine the medications that might be associated with the risk of falling in older people .