SSRIs Significantly Increase Falls in Dementia, Even at Low Doses

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Researchers in the Netherlands followed 248 nursing home residents with dementia for two years, finding that even 25% of the defined daily dose of SSRIs increase the risk of injurious falls by 31%. At the full defined daily dose, the risk rose by 298%. The addition of hypnotics or sedatives increased the risk even more. Results appear in the May issue of British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

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Mad in America hosts blogs by a diverse group of writers. These posts are designed to serve as a public forum for a discussion—broadly speaking—of psychiatry and its treatments. The opinions expressed are the writers’ own.

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Kermit Cole
Kermit Cole
Kermit Cole, MFT, founding editor of Mad in America, works in Santa Fe, New Mexico as a couples and family therapist. Inspired by Open Dialogue, he works as part of a team and consults with couples and families that have members identified as patients. His work in residential treatment — largely with severely traumatized and/or "psychotic" clients — led to an appreciation of the power and beauty of systemic philosophy and practice, as the alternative to the prevailing focus on individual pathology. A former film-maker, he has undergraduate and master's degrees in psychology from Harvard University as well as an MFT degree from the Council for Relationships in Philadelphia. Kermit leads workshops and webinars on the role of humor in psychotherapy and other human services. You can reach him at [email protected].

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