Risk factors for falling in a psychogeriatric unit.
OBJECTIVE: To identify risk factors associated with falls in a psychogeriatric inpatient population. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: A psychogeriatric inpatient unit in a Brown University affiliated psychiatric hospital. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1834 men and women who represented all admissions to the psychogeriatric inpatient unit between January 1992 and December 1995. RESULTS: Over the study period a total of 175 falls were recorded, giving a fall rate of 9.5%. Using a logistic regression model, six variables were found to be independently associated with an increased risk of falling: female gender, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), mood stabilizers, cardiac arrhythmias, Parkinson's syndrome and dementias. Falls and ECT were associated with longer hospital stay, when adjusted for confounders including ECT. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support previous results and identify ECT as a possible risk factor for falling in a hospital setting.