Risk of falls and its associated factors in hospitalized older adults

Abstract

Objective To analyze the risk of falls and its association with demographic and clinical variables, cognitive status, risk of sarcopenia and frailty among older adults hospitalized in a medical clinic of a university hospital. Method A quantitative, observational, cross-sectional analytical study of 60 older adults hospitalized in the medical clinic of a university hospital in São Paulo city, São Paulo state, Brazil, was carried out. Questionnaires collecting demographic profile and clinical data, the Mini-Mental State Examination, Morse Scale, SARC-F Scale and Tilburg Frailty Indicator were applied. Descriptive analyses and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test were performed. Spearman’s correlation test was used for quantitative variables and the Mann-Whitney U-test for categorical variables. Multiple linear regression was used to identify the associations and a significance level of 5% was adopted. Results The study sample comprised predominantly individuals that were female, aged 60-79 years and without a partner. Overall, 80% had cognitive impairment, 88.3% were diagnosed as frail, 60% were at risk for sarcopenia, and 75% had a high risk of falls during hospitalization. Cognitive impairment, frailty and sarcopenia risk were associated with risk of falls in the hospitalized older adults. Conclusion High risk of falls in the hospitalized older adults was directly associated with the presence of cognitive impairment, frailty syndrome and sarcopenia risk, confirming that these factors warrant attention from managers and nursing professionals.