Background:

The proximal femur fracture has been cosnidered as a major cause of death and permanent disability in the elderly, but It can be efficiently preventable by eliminating some risk factors, including inadequate use of psychotropics. This cohort study was carried out to evaluate the risk for proximal femur fracture associated with psychotropics use in Korean elderly people.

Methods:

The subjects of this study were the ‘Korean Elderly Pharmacoepidemiologic Cohort’, whgo were the beneficiaries of Korea Medical Insurance Corporation (KMIC) in 1993, over 65 years of age, lived in Pusan city. The information about psychotropics prescription was collected from the medical claims data, and the information on the femur fracture occurrence was collected from the computerized database for medical utilization of the KMIC.

Results:

After adjusting for age and gender, the risk of proximal femur fracture awas almost six times higher (adjusted RR=5.90, 95% C.I: 3.91-8.92) in the elderly who ever had a psychotropics prescription. People with high Total Standard Exposure Index (≥5 days) has significantly increased relative risk (adjusted RR = 4.28, 95% C.I. : 2.29-7.98), compared to those with TSEI of 0 day, but + hose with low TSEI (0<TSEI<5 days) has 7.81-fold higher risk (95% C.I : 4.66-13.08).

Conclusion:

According to this study, psychotropics use might increase the risk of proximal femur fracture in Korean elderly people. Further pharmacoepidemiologic study with larger sample size and information on the potential confounders should be needed to obtain more valid conclusion.