Medications and fall-related fractures in the elderly.

OBJECTIVES This article examines associations between the use of selected medications and fall-related fractures in the household population aged 65 or older. DATA SOURCE The analysis was based on cross-sectional data from the household component of the 1996/97 cycle of the National Population Health Survey. Data were from a sample of 13,363 respondents aged 65 or older. ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES Descriptive statistics and multivariate analyses were used to study cross-sectional associations between selected medications used in the previous month and fractures occurring in the previous year. Multiple logistic regression analyses controlled for potentially confounding factors. MAIN RESULTS Among elderly individuals who sustained any activity-limiting injury in 1996/97, an estimated 65,000 reported the most serious such injury had been a fall-related fracture. The odds of a fall-related fracture were significantly low among people who were taking diuretics/antihypertensives. Arthritis and urinary incontinence were positively associated with fall-related fractures.