Antidepressants and the Risk of Falls among Nursing Home Residents

Mood disorders are common among nursing home residents 1 , 2 and are associated with substantial excess morbidity and mortality. 3 – 9 Although major depression is treatable in frail elderly persons, 10 including nursing home residents, 11 there is concern that commonly used drugs increase the risk of falls and related injuries. 12 , 13 Tricyclic and other heterocyclic antidepressants, until recently the predominant therapy among elderly patients, produce psychomotor impairment 12 and orthostasis, 14 – 17 which can lead to falls. 13 , 18 In epidemiologic studies of long-term care, users of tricyclic antidepressants have increased rates of falls 19 – 22 and injuries, 23 – 25 with the increase in risk generally ranging from . . .