Medications and Diagnoses in Relation to Falls in a Long‐Term Care Facility

The association between falls, drugs, and diagnoses in elderly residents of a long‐term care facility was explored using case‐control methodology. The odds of being a faller rather than a control were significant (P < .01) for those taking antidepressants, sedatives/hypnotics, or vasodilators, and for those with osteoarthritis or depression. When drug/diagnosis subgroups were examined, these same drug classes and diagnoses had high‐odds ratios in the largest numbers of subgroups. In general, risk of falling appeared to be more strongly associated with drugs than with diagnoses.