Anticholinergic burden is associated with recurrent and injurious falls in older individuals

Anticholinergic burden and 1‐year mortality among older patients discharged from acute care hospital

“…Similarly, the risk of death was particularly increased among patients with a high or increasing ACB score and a history of falls in the present study. The association between the ACB score and recurrent or injurious falls might be mediated by impaired gait and balance, but not muscle strength in a population of community‐dwelling individuals . Given that impaired gait and balance are associated with an increased risk of death, a detrimental effect by anticholinergic medications on these functions could at least partly explain the observed reduced survival among patients with a high or increasing ACB score and a history of falls .…”

“…[3][4][5] Overall anticholinergic burden measured by summary scores was found to be associated with falls and cognitive impairment or dementia, whereas its association with mortality is controversial. [6][7][8] A significant association between the anticholinergic burden and mortality was observed in community-dwelling individuals, 9 nursing home residents 10 and older hospitalized patients with hip fractures. 11 These findings were not confirmed in other studies investigating the relationship between the anticholinergic burden and in-hospital mortality, 12 1-year mortality or nursing home placement in older hospitalized patients 13 and mortality in long-term care patients.…”

Diabetes, arthritis, urinary incontinence, poor self‐rated health, higher body mass index and lower handgrip strength are associated with falls among community‐dwelling middle‐aged and older adults: Pooled analyses from two cross‐sectional Malaysian datasets

“…8 In another review, the falls prevalence among community-dwelling older adults in Malaysia was reported to be as low as 4.2% to as high as 61% considering the differences in geographical location of the study, sample size and age of participants. 9 Risk factors associated with a 12-month history of falls, identified in previous Malaysian studies involving general older populations, include calcium and protein intake, 10 anti-cholinergic medication burden 11 and severe clinically-diagnosed osteoarthritis. 12 The population of Malaysia is multi-ethnic, comprising the three main ethnic groups: Chinese, Indian and Malay.…”

Anticholinergic and sedative medications and the risk of vertigo or dizziness in the German primary care setting—A matched case‐control study from the CONTENT registry

“…In our study, AS use at any time during the study period and AS use strictly 1 year before a VoD diagnosis was associated with an increased risk of VoD. Older adults with high anticholinergic burden were also found to experience more frequent and injurious falls . Likewise, AS medication in older men was associated with slower walking speed, muscular weakness, and balance problems .…”