Use of Medications with Anticholinergic Activity and Self-Reported Injurious Falls in Older Community-Dwelling Adults

Study (n=2696) reports that regular use of medications with anticholinergic activity is linked to subsequent injurious falls in older men (adjusted relative risk 2.55, 95% CI, 1.33–4.88), although falls were self-reported after a 2-year recall and so may have been underreported.

According to an NHS Choices assessment, the study had some limitations, which call for cautious interpretation of the findings:

 

• Medication use was only assessed at the start of the study and may have changed after this.

• Falls were self-reported. Participants may not have remembered all falls, particularly those that did not require medical attention.

• Even though the study was relatively large, the numbers in some groups were small once divided into men and women, medication usage, and those who had falls or not.