Adverse Events Increased With Sedative Prescription After Hospitalization

TUESDAY, July 7, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Older adults with a new prescription for a sedative have an increased risk for falls and adverse events in the 30 days after discharge, according to a study published online June 29 in CMAJ, the journal of the Canadian Medical Association.

Lisa D. Burry, Pharm.D., Ph.D., from the University of Toronto, and colleagues conducted a population-based cohort study involving older adults (aged 66 years and older) discharged alive from a hospital in Ontario (2003 to 2023) to examine the incidence and risk for adverse events associated with sedatives within 30 days after discharge.

The researchers found that 13.2 percent of the 1,868,484 older adults filled a sedative prescription after discharge; 31.0 percent of these patients were sedative-naive before hospital admission. Overall, 1.6 percent of patients had falls, and 21.3, 12.4, and 3.8 percent had emergency department visits, hospital readmissions, and death, respectively. For all outcomes, the adjusted hazard ratio was increased among those who filled a sedative prescription after discharge and were sedative-naive before hospital admission (hazard ratios, 1.20, 1.20, 1.20, and 1.78 for fall, emergency department visit, hospital readmission, and death, respectively). The risk for death was increased for those who were exposed to sedatives before their hospital admission (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.08), but risks for other outcomes were not increased.

“Our results showed that discharging older adults after an acute care hospital stay with a new prescription for these medications was associated with an increased hazard of falls requiring medical attention, further need for acute hospital care, and death in the 30 days after hospital discharge, whereas individuals with prior exposure did not experience the same increased hazards,” Burry said in a statement.

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