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CANBERRA, June 3 (Xinhua) – Seniors taking antidepressants or opioids are twice as likely to suffer a hip fracture after a fall, an Australian study released on Monday revealed.
According to the press release from the University of South Australia (UniSA), more than 28,000 Australians over 50 have been hospitalized for hip fractures in 2018.
Their study found that the risk of hip fracture was significantly higher in those taking multiple psychotropic medications – mood and mood-altering medications used to treat conditions ranging from depression to dementia.
"Antidepressants, opioids, antiepileptics, benzodiazepines (used to treat anxiety) and antipsychotics (used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) increase the risk of hip fractures," said Dr. Lead author Libby Roughead of UniSA.
"Their badociation further increases the risk, up to five times, in the case of combination of antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs."
This equates to an additional hip fracture for 17 patients aged 80 and over treated for one year.
The researchers said that this risk of falling could be reduced by using fewer drugs, doing more exercise and using other interventions such as occupational therapy and podiatry.
Australians are among the largest users of anti-depressants in the world, with about 10% of the adult population taking them daily.
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