• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Tuesday, October 7, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Health

Serious falls are a health risk for adults under 65

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
July 22, 2019
in Health
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

New Haven, Conn. — Adults who take several prescription medications are more likely to experience serious falls, say Yale researchers and their co-authors in a new study. This heightened risk can affect middle-aged individuals — a population not typically viewed as vulnerable to debilitating or fatal falls, the researchers said.

To identify factors that put adults at risk for serious falls, the research team used patient data from the Veterans Aging Cohort Study (VACS), a national study of individuals who receive care through the Veterans Health Administration (VA). They identified 13,000 fall cases and compared them to controls of similar age, race, sex, and HIV status. The fall risk factors included prescription medication use, and alcohol and illegal drug use.

The researchers found that falls were a problem for middle-aged patients. “Providers typically think about falls in people over age 65. But these people were primarily in their 50s and falls were an important concern,” said Julie Womack, lead author and associate professor at Yale School of Nursing.

The study also noted that the simultaneous use of multiple medications, known as polypharmacy, plays a significant role in serious falls among patients who are HIV positive and those who are not. The researchers examined HIV status because people treated for HIV take several medications and often at a younger age.

Medications that were associated with serious falls included those commonly used to treat anxiety and insomnia (benzodiazepines), as well as muscle relaxants and prescription opioids.

Another important finding is the role of alcohol and illegal drug use in falls, Womack said.

The study suggests that programs designed to prevent serious falls in older adults may need to be modified to address risks for middle-aged adults. “Fall risk factors are highly prevalent in the Baby Boomer generation more generally. The next step is to look at interventions for the middle aged,” said Womack. Those interventions could address drinking and illicit drug use in addition to polypharmacy. “When we’re thinking about fall prevention programs we have to think about alcohol and substance use. We need to help individuals cut back.”

Reducing falls in middle-aged and older adults is vital because falls contribute to increased risk of injuries, hospitalizations, and death, said Womack.

###

The study was published online ahead of print in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (JAIDS).

Other study authors are Terrence E. Murphy, Christopher T. Rentsch, Janet P. Tate, Harini Bathulapalli, Alexandria C. Smith, Jonathan Bates, Samah Jarad, Cynthia L. Gibert, Maria C. Rodriguez-Barradas, Phyllis C. Tien, Michael T. Yin, Thomas M. Gill, Gary Friedlaender, Cynthia A. Brandt, and Amy C. Justice.

This work was supported by the National Institute of Nursing Research, National Center for Research Resources and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institute on Aging, and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Citation: JAIDS

Media Contact
Ziba Kashef
[email protected]
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/QAI.0000000000002130

Tags: AgingAIDS/HIVAlcoholDrugsGerontologyHealth Care Systems/ServicesInternal MedicineMedicine/Health
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Reelin: A Promising Protein for Gut Repair and Depression Treatment

October 7, 2025

UBCO Study Reveals Sex Education Falls Short for 2SLGBTQIA+ Students

October 7, 2025

MiR-140-3p Impairs KIF5A, Drives SMA Transport Degeneration

October 7, 2025

Evaluating the CCCQ for Chinese Cancer Caregivers

October 7, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Sperm MicroRNAs: Crucial Mediators of Paternal Exercise Capacity Transmission

    888 shares
    Share 355 Tweet 222
  • New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    98 shares
    Share 39 Tweet 25
  • New Study Indicates Children’s Risk of Long COVID Could Double Following a Second Infection – The Lancet Infectious Diseases

    94 shares
    Share 38 Tweet 24
  • Ohio State Study Reveals Protein Quality Control Breakdown as Key Factor in Cancer Immunotherapy Failure

    76 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Study by SFU and Wageningen University Links River Widening to Increased Severity of Floods

Reelin: A Promising Protein for Gut Repair and Depression Treatment

FIU Cybersecurity Experts Unveil Midflight Defense Mechanism to Prevent Drone Hijacking

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 63 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.