Risk of falling associated with the use of medicines in the elderly of the community

Abstract

Falls are multifactor events, where drug use is an important modifiable risk factor. The risk of falling increases with the aging process and is related to a number of consequences such as reduced functionality, injuries, fractures, hospital admissions, morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the risk of falling associated with the use of medication in the elderly of the community in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. This was an observational study, of a transversal character, carried out by means of individual interviews. The variables evaluated were: participant profile and social, clinical and drug histories. In addition, the Medication Fall Risk Score scale was applied. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee in Research with Human Beings of the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, through the opinion n° 5.839.799. The study included 50 elderly individuals with an average age of 66 years (±5.41), most of them female (n=36; 72.0%), with a full tertiary education (n=15; 30.0%), physical exercise (n=39; 78.0%), without any physical limitations (n=34; 68.0%), and without caregiver (n=47; 94.0%). In total, 29 drugs (22.3%) associated with the risk of falling were identified in the prescriptions. The most prescribed were losartan potassium (n=x; 23.5%), anlodipine besylate (n=x; 9.8%), valsartan (7.8%), metoprolol succinate (7.8%), and hydrochlorothiazide (7.8%). Considering the total number of prescription-related medicines identified as falling risk, 12 (36.4%), 5 (15.2%) and 15 (48.5%) were high, intermediate and low risk of falling, respectively. Ten elderly people (20.0%) were classified as high risk of falling associated with the use of medicines. The results showed that the use of drugs associated with the risk of falling was common among the elderly participants in this study, since most were in use of at least one drug associated with the risk of falling. The importance of the work of the pharmacist from community pharmacies and Primary Health Care in the evaluation and management, by means of health education, of the risk of falling associated with the use of medicines in the elderly population is suggested.