DENVER -- Women with rheumatoid arthritis were six times more likely to suffer falls if they were taking drugs to combat hypertension, according to a prospective study reported here.
In an 80-patient cohort study, taking blood pressure medications, including diuretics, predicted at least one fall with an adjusted odds ratio of 6.20 (95% CI 1.43 to 26.99), compared with not using such drugs, reported Hiroshi Hagino, MD, of Tottori University in Tottori, Japan.
Swollen joint counts and lower-limb dysfunction were also significantly associated with fall risk, he said at a poster session at the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research meeting.
Hagino said balance impairments were likely responsible, as a result of the arthritis and/or from side effects of the drugs. He added that variations in blood pressure created by the medications might also play a role, particularly if they lead to periods of hypotension.
He noted that, although rheumatoid arthritis patients are known to be at increased risk for falls, specific risk factors have not been well studied.
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