Lowering elderly patients’ fall risk: 4 study insights

Ann Arbor-based University of Michigan researchers found changing elderly patient’s psychiatric medication dosage could reduce their fall risk, Medical Xpress reports.

Advertisement

Researcher analyzed fall risks between 2006 and 2010 for patients aged 65 and older using National Health and Retirement survey data.

Here are four study insights:

1. When patients over 65 had a moderate increase in depressive symptoms, they had a 30 percent jump in experiencing a fall over the next two years.

2. Researchers did not find that a fall preceded depression symptoms over two years.

3. The study indicates providers should pay particular attention to choosing and dosing medication and they should talk to older patients about their symptoms.

4. Falls associated with elderly patients cost $30 billion annually.

More articles on quality and infection control:
Superbug-like fungus infects erupting on East coast: 5 points
Nearly 22k US malaria-related hospitalizations reported in 14 years: 7 takeaways
Rare tick-borne illness infects infant in Connecticut: 5 things to know

Advertisement

Next Up in Uncategorized

Advertisement

Comments are closed.