One hundred and forty falls sustained by 65 psychogeriatric inpatients of average age 77.1 were studied in an attempt to identify risk factors. Multivariate analysis revealed increased age, a diagnosis of dementia and use of tricyclic antidepressants to be positively associated with falls when comparison was made to a control group of patients treated on the same unit who did not fall. Use of high‐potency neuroleptics was negatively associated with falls in the same analysis. A second analysis failed to reveal any variables, including routine daily measurements of orthostatic change in blood pressure, to be associated with rate of falling within the group of fallers.

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