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.