Falls and risk factors of falls for urban and rural community-dwelling older adults in China

Abstract

BackgroundFalls among older people have become a public health concern due to serious health consequences. Despite abundant literature on falls in older people, little is known about the rural-urban differentials in falls among older people in China. This research fills the voids of prior literature by investigating falls and the associated risk factors among Chinese seniors, with a particular focus on the rural-urban differences.MethodsData are from the 2010 wave of Chinese Longitudinal Survey on Urban and Rural Elderly. The analysis includes 16,393 respondents aged 65 and over, with 8440 and 7953 of them living in urban and rural areas, respectively. Descriptive analyses are performed to examine incidence, locations, circumstances and consequences of falls in older people. Regression analysis is used to investigate the effects of risk factors on falls among older people in urban and rural China.ResultsThe incidence of falls is higher among rural than urban older people. In both settings, older people are more likely to fell outside of home. But common outdoor falls among rural and urban older people differ in terms of locations and circumstances. Urban older people are more likely to report falling on the road whereas their rural counterparts have experienced more falls in the yard. Falls occurring within homes or immediate home surroundings are also common; but few falls occurred in public areas. The rate of hospitalization of urban seniors after falling is higher than that of rural ones. Most risk factors of falls show similar than different effects on rural and urban elders’ risks of falling.ConclusionsIncidence, locations, circumstances and consequences of falls vary among Chinese rural and urban older people. But most risk factors for falls show similar effects on rural and urban elders’ odds of falling. Implications drawn from this research provide suggestions for the government and local agencies to develop suitable fall prevention strategies which may well be applicable to other countries.

What Role Does Activity Engagement Play in the Association between Cognitive Frailty and Falls among Older Adults? Evidence from Rural Shandong, China

“…In our sample, 22.9% of the older people were aged ≥75 years. According to the data from Chinese Longitudinal Survey on Urban and Rural Elderly, the proportion of rural elderly people > 75 years old was 46.7%, which indicated a relatively older age structure [4]. Our results manifested that cognitive frailty was positively associated with falls among rural older adults in Shandong, China, in agreement with previous studies [7,8].…”

“…These findings suggested that rural older adults are more likely to fall than urban elderly people. A study by Zhang et al [4] indicated that a higher socioeconomic status significantly reduces the odds of falls. Another reason may be that most of the rural older adults performed agricultural work, increasing the possibility of falling outdoors.…”

“…In China, falls have become the first cause of death from injuries among adults > 60 years of age, imposing a huge disease burden on the elderly and their households [3]. The prevalence of falls among Chinese elderly was found to be higher in rural than in urban areas [4]. Exploring risk factors and interventions for falls is critical to prevent falls among rural older adults.…”

Prevalence and factors associated with falls among older persons in Malaysia

“…While, the most common area of indoor falls were in the kitchen, bedroom and living room 7 . Indoor falls were reported more likely to occur in the situation where older persons are undertaking their daily activities and, at this age, the body tends to become weaker and physical illness can increase the risk of falls among them 7,31 . Limitations in ADL have also been documented as linked to a higher risk of falling among older persons either outdoors or indoors 32 …”

Fall characteristics among elderly populations in urban and rural areas in Korea

“…[ 11 , 12 ] A study by Park et al [ 13 ] about rural region revealed that female gender and older age are risk factors for fall. In a study using data from 16,393 people over 65 in China, Zhang et al [ 14 ] compared the fall characteristics of rural and urban areas. Fall incidence was higher in rural area, and hospitalization rate due to fall was higher in urban area in this study.…”