Other medications that can increase the fall risk include blood pressure pills (they can make blood pressure go too low sometimes), so-called water pills (these diuretics can make so the senior rushes to the bathroom before having an accident and then falls or they have to get up in the middle of the night, which is a dangerous time for falls), and narcotics/opioids for pain.

These falls are huge worry because complications from falls, specifically hip fractures, are the fifth leading cause of death among seniors, say researchers.

The concern of medications and falls will continue to grow as doctors write more prescriptions for the aging population. As well, as the seniors begin to develop multiple medical problems, different medications prescribed by different specialists may end up working against each other.

Because of the concern of the connection between medications and falls, researchers from the University of British Columbia undertook a study that examined the most frequently prescribed medications for seniors and their association with the frequency of falls.

The research focused on people aged 60 years or older from data on more than 79,000 people and their use of either prescription and over-the-counter medications, or both.

Several types of medications were examined:

1. Narcotics/opioids (for treating pain)
2. Antihypertensives (for high blood pressure)
3. Diuretics (for encouraging urination)
4. Sedatives (for sleep)
5. Antidepressants
6. Antipsychotics
7. Beta-blockers (to treat heart conditions
8. Non-prescription non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin and ibuprofen

The only medication class that didn’t seem to have a correlation between it and falls was, surprisingly, the narcotics. The researchers did find that antidepressants seemed to be the worst culprit (Sedatives, mood-altering drugs related to falls among elderly: UBC study):

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.

This means that doctors, nurses, and pharmacists all need to be aware of the medications their patients are taking and their effects. If need be, the treatment plan or plans should be re-evaluated in order to reduce the risk of falls due to medication effects.

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Image: iStock.com

Post from: Blisstree

Medications Contribute to Seniors’ Falls

Researchers studied almost 14,000 seniors with diabetes who were prescribed antipsychotic medications to help manage their dementia symptoms. The patients were followed by the researchers for two years and the study results were published in the most recent issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine .

What the researchers found was that 11% of the group ended up in the hospital because of high blood sugar levels, many of whom were already being treated for diabetes, with either insulin or oral medications.

One of the big concerns of such findings is that the senior population is growing and so is the incidence of both diabetes and dementia. Therefore, doctors will need to be aware of this increased diabetes/antipsychotic risk.

A good article that explains this is Diabetic seniors taking antipsychotics face risks .

Another thing to keep in mind

Many seniors have different doctors for different health issues. It’s vital that each doctor be aware of all medications that their patients are taking. For this reason, carrying a medication journal would be a good idea. If the journal is kept up to date, then it can be presented to each doctor at each visit. This would allow them to see the patient as a whole, rather than as just the problem he or she is there for.

Another issue is different pharmacists. Just as patients may see different doctors, they may have their prescriptions filled at different places. This is a dangerous practice for anyone because pharmacists are the medication specialists. They are the ones who can identify if there are contraindications (rules against) some medications, they can warn people what to watch out for, and so on. If you must use different pharmacies, be sure that each pharmacy is also up to date on all the medications.

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Image: Newscom.com

Post from: Blisstree

Diabetic Seniors and Antipsychotic Meds

My bookmarks and email inbox have been bursting at the seams this week, just waiting to get into Saturday Sanity for all you fine people! Now that the day has arrived, it’s clear to me there is so much Saturday Sanity-worthy news, I’d best break it up so as not to take up 3/4 of the front page, ha!

So, read on for what’s been going on at Mental Health Notes, in the world of mental health news and advocacy, and throughout the b5media Health & Wellness Channel!

Here at Mental Health Notes, I shared military grief and support resources in honor of Memorial Day and highlighted online OCD support resources; invited you to take The Happiness Quiz, play The Recovery Cup board game, get your groove on at YouLicense.com, and laugh it up with Chato B. Stewart and his new mental health cartoon; pointed you in the direction of some life tips from Mark Twain; published the May edition of What Do You Really Want?; shared some thoughts on the recently declared haunted Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum; and passed along a Greenpeace report regarding video game consoles and learning, memory, and behavioral problems.

Oh, and the most exciting news of all: The spotlight is on a new rocker – Air!

In mental health advocacy news, Mental Health America is urging us to ask our representatives to vote for a delay on harmful and ill-advised Medicaid regulations. Mental Health America was also noted for its “Inaugural Promotion and Prevention Summit to Advance New Strategies.” The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) highlights Amber Main, a NAMI Virginia member who was featured on MTV’s “True Life: I Have Schizophrenia.” Dave at Dare To Dream wants to share thoughts and a video about neuroanatomist Jill Bolt Taylor’s self-discovery after suffering a stroke.

In regular ol’ mental health news and research, Kathleen Kingsbury tackles the debate of employees’ physical and mental health being considered equally important in TIME’s Tallying Mental Illness’ Costs. Norma Perez, a psychologist with a Texas medical facility for veterans post-traumatic stress disorder program, had the nerve to ask her staff members to stop diagnosing veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder due to “compensation seeking veterans.” Earthquake survivors in China are struggling with trauma, and according to Pauline Tam of The Ottawa Citizen Canada is lagging behind in mental health spending. Depression is in the spotlight for post-stroke patients and kidney transplant patients, and Canadian researchers now say people with dementia who take antipsychotic drugs have three times the risk of developing health problems or dying than people with dementia who don’t take antipsychotics.

And, in b5media’s Health & Wellness Channel news, Marijke Durning of Help My Hurt and Womb Within explains bone marrow transplants and becoming a donor, and Angelique at Breaking the Mirror – who is apparently a fellow Lolcats fan – shares a bit of comic relief and Cancer Commentary’s Gloria Gamat tells us about Stand Up To Cancer. Liz Lewis at Healthbolt shares some vintage drug ads, and, sadly, Jul leaves Veggie Chic and the b5media family.

Oh, I could end this week’s Saturday Sanity without letting you know about all the giveaways going on within the Health & Wellness Channel! Gabrielle Sedor is being an awfully generous soul and giving away copies of the “Learn to Create a Healthy Home!” CD at Daily Tomorrow and Fertility Blend for Women vitamins at Fertility Notes. Not to be outdone, Grace Ibay at Kids Health Notes is giving away oodles of health food treats and snacks.

Whoo! I didn’t think I’d ever get that all out. Remember, if you have any Saturday Sanity news, shoot me an email with “Saturday Sanity” in the subject line.

Image: Newscom

Air is currently rockin’ out in the This Is Why I ROCK! series here at Mental Health Notes. If you have a mental illness and are still living the life you love, head on over the the official announcement post and enter!

Post from: Blisstree

Saturday Sanity: Putting A Bee In Your Bonnet