Falls among Brazilian older adults living in urban areas

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To assess the prevalence and factors associated with falls in a nationally representative sample of older Brazilians residing in urban areas.METHODS Data from 4,174 participants (60 years or older) from the baseline of ELSI-Brazil, conducted between 2015 and 2016, were used. The outcome variable was the reporting of one or more falls in the last 12 months. The exploratory variables were sociodemographic characteristics, factors related to the urban environment, and health conditions. Statistical analysis was performed using Poisson regression.RESULTS The prevalence of falls was 25.1%. Of these, 1.8% resulted in a hip or femur fracture and, among them, 31.8% required surgery for prosthesis placement. Statistically significant associations (p < 0.05) with falls were observed for females [prevalence ratio (PR) = 1.26], age group of 75 years or older (PR = 1.21), fear of falling due to defective sidewalks (PR = 1.47), fear of crossing streets (PR = 1.22), diabetes (PR = 1.17), arthritis or rheumatism (PR = 1.29), and depression (PR = 1.53). No significant associations were found for educational level, marital status, hypertension, and perception of violence in the neighborhood.CONCLUSIONS The factors associated with falls among older adults are multidimensional, comprising individual characteristics and the urban environment, which indicates the need for intra and intersectoral actions to prevent falls in this population.

Falls and associated factors among elderly users of Primary Healthcare Services

“…The prevalence of falls in the past six months was 27.7%, with 19.6% being men and 32.6% being women. These estimations are very close to those reported in a nationwide study by Pimentel et al 2 , who found 18.4% among men and 30.2% among women, although the authors have considered falls in the past 12 months. In addition, an integrative literature review of 35 studies showed that the prevalence of falls among elderly people living in different cities of Brazil ranged from 10.7 to 59.3%, considering the 12-month period before the interview 25. This variation, despite the possible effect of different sampling methods and the operational definition of the variable of interest (i.e.…”

“…In Brazil, a study including more than 4,000 elderly individuals (over 60 years old) who lived in urban areas of 70 cities reported that 25.1% had suffered falls in the past 12 months prior to their interviews. Of these, 1.8% had fracture of femur or hip 2 . In addition, the mortality rates increased from 1.25 per 10,000 elderly in 1996 to 3.75 in 2012 3 .…”

Prevalence of falls and associated factors in community-dwelling older Brazilians: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Thirty-one studies 12,13,14,15,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60 reported 12-month prevalence of falls, with estimates ranging between 6.5 and 46.9%, and three studies 61,62,63 reported six-month prevalence, of falls, with estimates ranging between 21.5 and 53%. The three remaining studies reported one-month prevalence 64 , three-month prevalence 65 , and lifetime-prevalence 66 of falls (Table 1).…”

Dual-task training with progression from variable- to fixed-priority instructions versus dual-task training with variable-priority on gait speed in community-dwelling older adults: A protocol for a randomized controlled trial

“…These events will be monitored closely until a resolution or stabilization is achieved, or until it has been shown that the study intervention is not the cause of the event. According to the recent epidemiologic data of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSI-Brazil) [32], if falls incidences during the training session are greater than 25% with 3% resulting in a hip or femur fracture, the study will be interrupted.…”