Science Daily reports on recent work by researchers at the University of British Columbia which has highlighted the relationship between certain types of medications and falls in elderly people. As falls or complications arising from these are one of the leading causes of death of elderly people  in western nations, understanding how many commonly  prescribed medications can crate a dangerous situation reinforces “the need for judicious use of medications in elderly people at risk of falling,” says Carlo Merra, an associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences at UBC.

The Science Daily article reports: “Antidepressants showed the strongest statistical association with falling, possibly because older drugs in this class have significant sedative properties. Anti-psychotics/neuroleptics often used to treat schizophrenia and other psychoses and benzodiazepines such as valium were also significantly associated with falls.

Prescribing medications to seniors has increased substantially over the past decade, according to the study. For example, the BC Rx Atlas, recently published by UBC researchers, shows that more than one in seven people aged 80 or older filled at least one antidepressant prescription in 2006. In addition, determining which medication classes are associated with falls remains a challenge since seniors are often on multiple medications for multiple health conditions, with new drugs entering the market on a regular basis, says Marra.”

Read the complete article here.