Drugs linked to falls in older adults with obesity and heart failure
Fall risk was higher among users than matched non-users, with a risk ratio of 1.142 during follow-up lasting up to five years.
Our read
Populations- Studied:
- Cohort study in people (5 years)
- In the record:
- The 1,298th paper on GLP-1 receptor agonists with results in people; 4,590 on record in all. Its result on hypoglycemia agrees with 5 of 16 other findings on record; 6 point the other way and 5 found no change.
- Why it’s aging research:
- It studies an intervention with evidence of extending healthy life.
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Adults aged 65 or older with obesity and heart failure were studied in a retrospective observational cohort, with 37,800 drug users matched to 37,800 non-users. The drugs were glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, a class increasingly used in people with these conditions. Users had drug exposure within one year of their obesity diagnosis. The analysis excluded people with prior falls or fractures and tracked outcomes for up to five years.
Drug use was associated with higher fall risk after matching for demographic, health and medication differences. However, the authors reported no significant difference in time to first fall. Users also had higher risks of low blood sugar, blood pressure drops on standing and a combined measure of nerve problems. They had lower risks of frailty, meaning reduced physical reserves, and a combined measure of abnormal or slow heart rhythms.
Why it matters
Fall risk matters when weighing the potential benefits and harms of these drugs for older adults who have both obesity and heart failure.
Caveats
Matching could not rule out differences in health or prescribing decisions that might help account for the links. The conference abstract gave no absolute fall rates, and the findings do not cover people younger than 65 or those with prior falls or fractures.
The paper
John A. Burns Sch of Medicine; Univ of California Irvine
AHA Scientific Sessions 2026 Abstract, Nov 2, 2026
Presented at AHA Scientific Sessions 2026, abstract 17603
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