By Renee Campbell, MD, MBA, MPH, Global Value and Access Epilepsy and Sleep lead, Genevieve De Sousa Meier, Executive Director, Head of Global Value and Access, and Amir Abbas Tahami Monfared, executive director, Franchise Head of Global Value, Access, Pricing and HEOR, all from Eisai
Insomnia is the most common sleep-wake disorder, affecting approximately 20% of adults age 65 and older in the US and its prevalence increases with age.1 Poor sleep, and the use of some types of medications to treat it, is associated with increased risk of falls, which are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries among older adults.2
More than one in four people age 65 and older fall each year; moreover, falling once doubles the chances of a recurring fall.3 In the US, the number of falls and the significant medical costs associated with them are expected to increase with the aging population.4
Our recent study5 was designed to understand the impact of falls by quantifying the relationship between the annual incidence of having at least one fall and the mean annual number of falls per faller.