ArticleBMC geriatrics2023
Association of medication use with falls and mortality among long-term care residents: a longitudinal cohort study.
Article in BMC geriatrics, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Psychological and educational interventions for preventing falls in older people living in the community.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Exploring medication self-management in polypharmacy: a qualitative systematic review of patients and healthcare providers perspectives.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Pooled it
- Mechanistic Pathways Linking Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Hypertension, and Osteoarthritis to Falls in Older Adults: A Scoping Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Association of changes in medication with the effectiveness of rehabilitation in older patients: a hospital-based observational study.BMC geriatrics · 2026Observational
- Characterizing Medicare Medication Therapy Management program enrollees with central nervous system-active polypharmacy.Journal of managed care & specialty pharmacy · 2026Observational
- Artificial intelligence-driven risk prediction of polypharmacy in older adults: current advances, clinical applications, and future perspectives.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Association between fractures and health status among independent older adults: insights from a suburban cohort in Japan.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundFalls in long-term care are common. The aim of our study was to explore how medication use is associated with incidence of falls, related consequences, and all-cause mortality among long-term care residents.
methodsFive hundred thirty two long-term care residents aged 65 years or older participated in this longitudinal cohort study in 2018-2021. Data on medication use were retrieved from medical records. Polypharmacy was defined as use of 5-10 medications and excessive polypharmacy as use of > 10 medications. The numbers of falls, injuries, fractures, and hospitalizations were collected from medical records over 12 months following baseline assessment. Participants were followed for three years for mortality. All analysis were adjusted for age, sex, Charlson Comorbidity Index, Clinical dementia rating, and mobility.
resultsA total of 606 falls occurred during the follow-up. Falls increased significantly with the number of medications used. Fall rate was 0.84/person-years (pyrs) (95% CI 0.56 to 1.13) for the non-polypharmacy group, 1.13/pyrs (95% CI 1.01 to 1.26) for the polypharmacy group, and 1.84/pyrs (95% CI 1.60 to 2.09) for the excessive polypharmacy group. Incidence rate ratio for falls was 1.73 (95% CI 1.44 to 2.10) for opioids, 1.48 (95% CI 1.23 to 1.78) for anticholinergic medication, 0.93 (95% CI 0.70 to 1.25) for psychotropics, and 0.91 (95% CI 0.77 to 1.08) for Alzheimer medication. The three-year follow-up showed significant differences in mortality between the groups, the lowest survival rate (25%) being in the excessive polypharmacy group.
conclusionPolypharmacy, opioid and anticholinergic medication use predicted incidence of falls in long-term care. The use of more than 10 medications predicted all-cause mortality. Special attention should be paid to both number and type of medications when prescribing in long-term care.
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