Use of medications with anticholinergic activity and self-reported injurious falls in the older aged community-dwelling adults

Richardson, Kathryn ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0741-8413, Bennett, Kathleen, Maidment, Ian D., Fox, Chris ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9480-5704, Smithard, David and Kenny, Rose Anne (2015) Use of medications with anticholinergic activity and self-reported injurious falls in the older aged community-dwelling adults. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 63 (8). 1561–1569. ISSN 1532-5415

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Abstract

Objectives: To assess the association between the use of medications with anticholinergic activity and the subsequent risk of injurious falls in older adults. Design: Prospective, population-based study using data from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing. Setting: Irish population. Participants: Community-dwelling men and women without dementia aged 65 and older (N = 2,696). Measurements: Self-reported injurious falls reported once approximately 2 years after baseline interview. Self-reported regular medication use at baseline interview. Pharmacy dispensing records from the Irish Health Service Executive Primary Care Reimbursement Service in a subset (n = 1,553). Results: Nine percent of men and 17% of women reported injurious falls. In men, the use of medications with definite anticholinergic activity was associated with greater risk of subsequent injurious falls (adjusted relative risk (aRR) = 2.55, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.33–4.88), but the risk of having any fall and the number of falls reported were not significantly greater. Greater anticholinergic burden was associated with greater injurious falls risk. No associations were observed for women. Findings were similar using pharmacy dispensing records. The aRR for medications with definite anticholinergic activity dispensed in the month before baseline and subsequent injurious falls in men was 2.53 (95% CI = 1.15–5.54). Conclusion: The regular use of medications with anticholinergic activity is associated with subsequent injurious falls in older men, although falls were self-reported after a 2-year recall and so may have been underreported. Further research is required to validate this finding in men and to consider the effect of duration and dose of anticholinergic medications.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: anticholinergic,antimuscarinic,falls,injury,elderly
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Health Sciences
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Psychological Sciences (former - to 2018)
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Mental Health
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Health Promotion
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Norwich Epidemiology Centre
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Norwich Epidemiology Centre
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Institute for Volunteering Research
Depositing User: Pure Connector
Date Deposited: 24 Jul 2015 23:07
Last Modified: 19 Apr 2023 00:45
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/53820
DOI: 10.1111/jgs.13543

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