Understanding the risk of medications associated with orthostatic hypotension in older adults

Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is a common, disabling condition associated with serious adverse outcomes in later life, yet one that is frequently overlooked. Over 250 medications are reported to cause OH and the risk rises with cumulative drug use. Despite this, guidelines for medication-related OH are scarce and conflicting, based on low-quality studies and expert opinion. This thesis aims to address the gap in knowledge through:

1. a systematic review and meta-analysis to understand which specific medications are associated with OH
2. the study of UK primary care electronic health records to examine the risk of OH associated with drug exposure and drug-combination exposure, in older people.

UCL School of Pharmacy

MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing