Journal of Korean Geriatric Psychiatry

노인정신의학

pISSN 1226-6329 / eISSN 2733-4600


노인정신의학

대한노인정신의학회 (5권1호 76-85)

Analysis of the Risk Factors and Psychotropics’ Role in the Falls of the Dementic Elderlies in a Nursing Home

전문 요양시설 내 치매 노인의 낙상 위험요인 분석 및 향정신약물의 역할

정세훈(Sae Hoon Chung);조경형(Kyung Hyung Jho);신영민(Young Min Shin)

Abstract

Objective:This study examines the risk factors of the falls of the dementic elderlies in the nursing home. Especially we investigated how the psychotropics affect them in the aspect of the falling tendency. Methods:We investigated the falls of the 262 patients living in the Seoul JungGae Nursing Home for six month since March 1 1999. Among these we recruited 182 patients whom the exclusion criteria was applied to, and then we measured the relative risks of risk factors known from the previous studies. Results:The incidence rate of falls is 40.1/100person year. The relative risk of gender, age, disease of central nervous system, chronic illness, cognitive function, antipsychotics, antidepressants and anxiolytics had no significance (p>0.05). BADL, mobility, mood stabilizers were related with the falls significantly, and the relative risks were 0.904 (95%CI 0.840-0.973), 1.744 (95%CI 1.064-2.858), 4.683 (95%CI 1.412-15.532) relatively. Conclusions:The average rate of falling was 40.1/100person year showing less frequent accidents than that of other foreign studies, which was assumed the large number the care-givers and sitting life style on the floor helped preventing the elderlis' falling. Although The gender, age, disease of central nervous system, chronic illness, cognitive function, antipsychotics, antidepressants and anxiolytics did not influence the rate of the falling tendendy of the elderlies, the mobility and impaired activity of daily living increased the rate of their falling. The elderlies taking psychotropics more fell than others not taking pills. The imbalance between the mobile potency and imposed real activity causes the falls. When the psychotropics affect negatively on the mobility, it increases the falling rate of the elderlies. On the other hands, when these affect positively, these prevent elderlies falling.

Keywords

치매,낙상,향정신약물, Dementia,Fall,Psychotropics