The role of drugs in falls in the elderly.

Drugs can contribute to falls in the elderly. Older people have more diseases, take more medications, and more frequently have drug side effects. Current studies show that the link between drugs and falls is best illustrated by the barbiturates, and well founded with phenothiazines and tricyclic antidepressants. The more types of drugs a patient receives, the greater the likelihood of a fall. Combining drugs with various diseases adds to the risk. New research should concentrate on naming individual drugs in larger surveys of falling. Much more sophisticated statistical procedures and testing would allow analysis of the specific dangers of drug and drug/disease combinations.