A recent study conducted by researchers from Seattle-based University of Washington and Durham, N.C.-based Duke University found a strong association between the use of fall-risk increasing drugs and a higher incidence of injurious falls in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The research, published in the Journal of the COPD Foundation, examined more than 8,000 decedents with COPD and found that those with a greater burden of FRID prescriptions were more likely to suffer injurious falls.
The study found that patients who experienced falls had an average of 3.47 FRID prescriptions, compared to 2.85 for those without falls. The most commonly prescribed FRIDs in these patients included benzodiazepines, opioids and antihypertensives.
Patients with a history of falls also had more comorbidities, such as anxiety, depression and hypertension, which often are treated with fall-risk increasing drugs.