Analyzing Drug-Induced Fall Risk Data Among Older Adults

To better understand the risk signals of drug-induced falls among older adults, researchers analyzed data from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System and noted opportunity for intervention.

“To effectively reduce the incidence of falls and their hazards, the first necessary step is to assess the risk of falls accurately,” explained researchers.

In an effort to provide evidence for drug safety, authors of the study performed a disproportionality analysis of odds ratio and proportional reported ratio to detect adverse effects signals among older adult patients.

A total of 208,849 reports (34,840 fall events and 1,898 drugs) were considered as part of the analysis. Included patients were aged and average of 76.95 years (±7.6 years) and 64.47% female.

Per the results, 258 drugs with positive signals were found to be associated with drug-induced falls. Of the positive signal drugs, 44.1% (104) were considered neurological, 25 were for patients’ circulatory system (10.6%), 15 for digestive system (6.4%), and 12 for motor system (5.1%). The most common neurologic drugs included antipsychotics, antidepressants, antiparkinsonian drugs, central nervous system drugs, anticonvulsants, and hypnotic sedatives.

“Many drugs were associated with a high risk of falls in older patients,” concluded researchers. “The drug is one of the important and preventable factors for fall control, and the risk level of drug-induced falls should be considered to optimize drug therapy in clinical practice.”

Reference:
Zhou S, Jia B, Kong J, et al. Drug-induced fall risk in older patients: A pharmacovigilance study of FDA adverse event reporting system database. Front Pharmacol. 2022;13:1044744. doi:10.3389/fphar.2022.104474