Meta-analysis of the effect of medication on falls in the elderly

The objective of this study was to carry out a systematic quality review and meta-analysis of all literature published in years 1981-1997 which studied the effect of drugs in the elderly and which had analyzable data on major groups of drugs. The sources of data were reports of surveys, case-control, prospective and retrospective studies, published in English. Identified studies were assessed for (i) ecological, (ii) methodological and (iii) statistical features. The drugs were classified into four main groups, namely (a) antidepressants (b) antipsychotics, (c) diuretics, and (d) hypnosedatives. Increasing risk of falls were related in order to diuretics, hypnosedatives, antidepressants and antipsychotics: the odd ratios with antipsychotics was 42% higher than with diuretics. The conclusion was that, clinically, the following classes of drugs show a significant positive relationship with falls: antipsychotics, antidepressants and hypnosedatives. The relationship with diuretics and falls is less clear; at best, it has a weak relationship with falls