Comparative risk of hip fractures in elderly nursing home patients with depression using paroxetine and other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate comparative safety of paroxetine and other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for the risk of hip fractures. Patients & methods: A propensity score-matched retrospective cohort study was conducted using 2007-2010 Minimum Data Set linked Medicare data. Robust Cox proportional hazards model was used to evaluate the risk of hip fractures in depressed elderly nursing home residents. Results: Cox analysis did not find any significant difference in the risk of hip fractures for the paroxetine users (hazard ratio: 1.09; 95% CI: 0.91-1.32) when compared with other SSRIs. Results from the sensitivity analysis supported the main findings. Conclusion: There was no differential risk of hip fractures between paroxetine and other SSRIs. Future studies are needed to evaluate other anticholinergic effects of paroxetine.