Gabapentin Users Experienced Fewer Falls than Duloxetine Users

Treatment with gabapentin may be associated with a reduced risk of falls compared with duloxetine, according to study results published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Gabapentin users demonstrated significantly fewer fall-related healthcare visits compared with duloxetine users and an approximately 50% lower hazard of falls at 6-months follow-up.

The active comparator study included 57,086 participants aged ≥65 years who received treatment with gabapentin (n=52,152) or duloxetine (n=4934) for diabetic neuropathy, postherpetic neuralgia, or fibromyalgia. The study’s primary endpoint was the hazard of experiencing any fall-related healthcare visit starting 6 months after initiating duloxetine or gabapentin until treatment discontinuation. Fall-related events were assessed using commercial claims data collected from the MarketScan (IBM) database from January 2014 to December 2021.

The weighted cumulative incidence of fall-related visits per 1000 person-years was:

• 30 days: 103.60 for gabapentin users vs 203.43 for duloxetine users
• 60 days: 90.44 for gabapentin users vs 177.73 for duloxetine users
• 180 days: 84.44 for gabapentin users vs 158.21 for duloxetine users

There was a lower hazard of falls for incident gabapentin users compared with duloxetine at 6-month follow-up (hazard ratio [HR], .52; 95% CI, .43 to .64), with no difference in hazard of severe falls.