Does baseline depression increase the risk of unexplained and accidental falls in a cohort of community-dwelling older people? Data from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA).

The risk of falls associated with depression in older adults is more marked for UFs, with the association for AFs approaching borderline significance only. This finding is important because UFs require focused clinical assessment with attention to potential causes such as cardiac arrhythmia or orthostatic hypotension.