title: Central nervous system medications and falls risk in men aged 60-75 years: the Study on Male Osteoporosis and Aging (SOMA).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  drugs acting on the central nervous system (CNS) increase falls risk. Most data on CNS drugs and falls are in women/mixed-sex populations. This study assessed the relationship between CNS drugs and falls in men aged 60-75 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  a questionnaire was sent to randomly selected Danish men aged 60-75 years. Cross-sectional data on CNS drugs and falls in the previous year were available for 4,696 men. Logistic regression investigated the relationship between falls and CNS drugs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  the median age was 66.3 (IQR = 63.1-70.0) years; 21.7% were fallers. The following were associated with fallers (OR; 95% CI): opiates (2.4; 1.5-3.7), other analgesics (1.7; 1.4-2.1), antiepileptics (2.8; 1.5-5.1), antidepressants (2.8; 1.9-4.1) and anxiolytics/hypnotics (1.5; 0.9-2.6). Effects of opiates interacted strongly and significantly with age, with a marked association with falls in the older half of the subjects only. No significant associations were found between antipsychotics and fallers. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and tricyclics were significantly associated with fallers (3.1; 2.0-5.0 and 2.2; 1.0-4.7, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  several CNS drug classes are associated with an approximately 2-3-fold increase risk of falls in men aged 60-75 years randomly selected from the population. Further longitudinal data are now required to confirm and further investigate the role of CNS drugs in falls causation in men.
authors.affiliation: Heathcare for Older People, Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust, Nottingham, UK. tahir.masud@nuh.nhs.uk
authors.forename: Tahir
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Masud
authors.forename: Morten
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Frost
authors.forename: Jesper
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ryg
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Matzen
authors.forename: Marlene
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ibsen
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Abrahamsen
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Brixen
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D000700:Analgesics / Q000009:adverse effects; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000009:adverse effects; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000009:adverse effects; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000009:adverse effects; D002491:Central Nervous System Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003718:Denmark; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D012306:Risk
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents; D000927:Anticonvulsants; D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D002491:Central Nervous System Agents