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Updated: Aug 28, 2025

Using a Real-Time Locating System to Measure Walking Activity Associated with Wandering Behaviors Among Institutionalized Older Adults
Published on: February 8, 2019
Z-drugs and falls in nursing home patients: data from the INCUR study
Sarah Damanti1, Moreno Tresoldi2, Philipe de Souto Barreto3,4
1Unit of General Medicine and Advanced Care, IRCCS San Raffaele Institute, Milan, Italy. damanti.sarah@hsr.it.
Background:
Z-drugs are the most prescribed treatment for insomnia, but their negative effect on the body sway can increase the risk of falls.
Aims:
Evaluating the association between Z-drugs and falls in a resident cohort.
Methods:
Prospective observational study using the data collected in the Incidence of pNeumonia and related ConseqUences in nursing home Residents (INCUR) study.
Results:
During the one-year follow-up, among the 800 participants (median age 87), 93 individuals fell (64 fracturing and 29 without fracturing). Lower calf circumference (adjusted OR 0.92, 95% CI 0.86-0.97, p = 0.006) and the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (adjusted OR 1.86, 95% CI 1.1-3.05, p = 0.01) predicted falls, whereas the use of Z-drugs (adjusted OR 2.37, 95% CI 1.13-4.94, p = 0.02) and lower body mass index (adjusted OR 0.9, 95% CI 0.84-0.97, p = 0.005) were associated with falls without fractures.
Conclusions:
Z-drugs predicted falls without fractures in residents. Alternative strategies to promote sleep in residents should be pursued.
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