Polypharmacy Is Related to Higher Falls Risk in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Description/Abstract/Artist Statement

Elderly falls remain prevalent and were the leading cause of injury-related death for this population in 2020. This study examined the relationship between prescribed number of medications, simple reaction time (SRT), falls risk and self-reported falls. The recruited participants (n= 334, mean age = 70.8 ± 7.99 years, 65.3% female) completed a long-form Physiological Profile Assessment (PPA) as part of a community falls risk assessment program, including two measures of SRT. Fallscreen software generated a falls risk z-score normalized to the participant’s age and gender. Average fall occurrences were reported at 1.2 per participant in the past year, with 58.1% of participants reporting at least one fall within the same time frame. The average number of daily medications reported was 6.4. Data analysis revealed medication quantity to have a weak, positive, significant correlation with hand SRT (r = .083, p =.030), foot SRT (r =.107, p = .005), fall risk score (r =.180, p

Presenting Author Name/s

Dakota Smith

Faculty Advisor/Mentor

Brittany Samulski

Faculty Advisor/Mentor Department

Rehabilitation Sciences

College Affiliation

College of Health Sciences

Presentation Type

Poster

Disciplines

Physical Therapy

Session Title

Poster Session

Location

Learning Commons Lobby @ Perry Library

Start Date

3-30-2024 8:30 AM

End Date

3-30-2024 10:00 AM

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Mar 30th, 8:30 AM Mar 30th, 10:00 AM

Polypharmacy Is Related to Higher Falls Risk in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Learning Commons Lobby @ Perry Library

Elderly falls remain prevalent and were the leading cause of injury-related death for this population in 2020. This study examined the relationship between prescribed number of medications, simple reaction time (SRT), falls risk and self-reported falls. The recruited participants (n= 334, mean age = 70.8 ± 7.99 years, 65.3% female) completed a long-form Physiological Profile Assessment (PPA) as part of a community falls risk assessment program, including two measures of SRT. Fallscreen software generated a falls risk z-score normalized to the participant’s age and gender. Average fall occurrences were reported at 1.2 per participant in the past year, with 58.1% of participants reporting at least one fall within the same time frame. The average number of daily medications reported was 6.4. Data analysis revealed medication quantity to have a weak, positive, significant correlation with hand SRT (r = .083, p =.030), foot SRT (r =.107, p = .005), fall risk score (r =.180, p