Abstract
Falls are a major public health concern in the older population, and certain medication classes are a significant risk factor for falls. However, knowledge is lacking among both physicians and older people, including caregivers, concerning the role of medication as a risk factor. In the present statement, the European Geriatric Medicine Society (EuGMS) Task and Finish group on fall-risk-increasing drugs (FRIDs), in collaboration with the EuGMS Special Interest group on Pharmacology and the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS) Geriatric Medicine Section, outlines its position regarding knowledge dissemination on medication-related falls in older people across Europe. The EuGMS Task and Finish group is developing educational materials to facilitate knowledge dissemination for healthcare professionals and older people. In addition, steps in primary prevention through judicious prescribing, deprescribing of FRIDs (withdrawal and dose reduction), and gaps in current research are outlined in this position paper.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 299-307 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Drugs & aging |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Apr 2019 |
Keywords
- Accidental Falls/prevention & control
- Age Factors
- Aged
- Aged, 80 and over
- Analgesics, Opioid/adverse effects
- Anticonvulsants/adverse effects
- Europe
- European Union
- Geriatrics/methods
- Humans
- Polypharmacy
- Psychotropic Drugs/adverse effects
- Risk Factors
- Sodium Potassium Chloride Symporter Inhibitors/adverse effects