Background: Falls are common in older adults and increase in recent years. This study aimed to examine the risk of falls associated with long-acting benzodiazepines (BZDs) or tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) use in community-dwelling older adults. Methods: A nationwide population-based case–crossover design was used. We screened information on 6,370,275 fall or fall fracture cases among community-dwelling elderly patients from the database of the national health insurance data warehouse in South Korea. We extracted the data of elderly patients who visited the hospital for a fall and were diagnosed with the first fall or fall fracture after prescription of long-acting BZDs (n = 1805) or TCAs (n = 554). The study used conditional logistic regression analysis to analyze the associations and stratified analysis by gender and age group to control for their confounding effects. Results: Risk of falls or fall fractures increased by more than two times after taking long-acting BZDs (odds ratio [OR] = 2.16; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.85–2.52) or TCAs (OR = 2.13; 95% CI = 1.62–2.83). The longer the prescription period of both, the higher the risk of falls or fall fractures was (≥49 days for long-acting BZDs vs. ≥ 56 days for TCAs). Conclusions: Long-acting BZDs or TCAs should be avoided or prescribed for a shorter duration based on these adverse effects. Health care providers should focus on fall prevention practices in older adults who take such drugs.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of fermented poly hydroxyl acid (F-PHA) using the Lactobacillus plantarum J2K-27 strain, and identify the applicability of its biological compounds. Methods: F-PHA was analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to identify its active compounds. Furthermore, the radical scavenging activities were evaluated for F-PHA. The cell viability and expression of procollagen type 1 and hyaluronic acid were investigated. Results: Changes in F-PHA represented the increase of lactobionic acid and lactic acid after fermentation. F-PHA increased radical scavenging activity in a dosedependent manner. After fermentation, F-PHA was confirmed to increase the expression of procollagen type 1 synthesis and hyaluronic acid without cytotoxicity. Conclusion: These results confirmed that F-PHA shows generally higher activities functional cosmetic material.