Incidence of and Risk Factors for Falls and Injurious Falls among the Community-dwelling Elderly

Abstract

To determine the frequency of and risk factors for falls and injurious falls in the noninstitutionalized elderly, the authors conducted a follow-up study of 409 community-dwelling persons aged 65 years or more in west-central Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from May 1987 to October 1988. Following an initial at-home interview, each subject was telephoned every 4 weeks for 48 weeks for collection of data on falls experienced since the last contact. Each of the 12 follow-up interviews was completed by at least 90% of the subjects eligible for interview. Data were also collected in the follow-up interviews on time-varying exposures. Twenty-nine percent of the subjects fell during follow-up; 17.6% fell once, and 11.5% fell two or more times. The incidence rate for falls was 41.4 falls per 1,000 person-months. The majority of falls resulted in no injury or in minor injury only. Potential risk factors investigated included sociodemographic variables, physical activity, alcohol consumption, acute and chronic health problems, dizziness, mobility, and medications. Multivariate analyses showed that the following factors were statistically significantly associated with an increased rate of falls: dizziness (incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 2.0), frequent physical activity (IRR = 2.0), having days on which activities were limited because of a health problem (IRR = 1.8), having trouble walking 400 m (IRR = 1.6), and having trouble bending down (IRR = 1.4). Factors which were protective included diversity of physical activities (IRR = 0.6), daily alcohol consumption (IRR = 0.5), having days spent in bed because of a health problem (IRR = 0.5), and taking heart medication (IRR = 0.6). Risk factors for injurious falls were similar.

Falls Are Associated with Stroke, Arthritis and Multiple Medications among Community-Dwelling Elderly Persons in Japan

“…Several investigators have reported that stroke is a risk factor for falls (O'Loughlin et al 1993;Salgado et al 1994;Herndon et al 1997). Many stroke victims become unable to generate sufficient amounts of force in lower limb musculature, or to coordinate the actions of different muscle groups (Moseley et al 1993).…”

“…Stroke and arthritis are risk factors for falls (Nevitt et al 1989;O'Loughlin et al 1993;Lord et al 2001;Mitchell et al 2013). In addition, taking hypnotic or multiple medications might also be associated with risk of falling (Granek et al 1987;Blake et al 1988;Mustard and Mayer 1997;Evci et al 2006;Mitchell et al 2013).…”

Prevention of Falls Network Europe: a thematic network aimed at introducing good practice in effective falls prevention across Europe

“…Approximately 30% of persons aged over 65 years fall each year, and after the age of 75 years the rates are even higher (O'Loughlin et al 1993). Between 20% and 30% of those who fall suffer injuries that reduce mobility and independence and increase the risk of premature death.…”

Kyphosis and incident falls among community-dwelling older adults

“…Falls are common in older adults and have broad economic, medical, and emotional ramifications [1]. It has been estimated that one third of those over the age of 65 experience a fall in any given year with the associated economic costs measured in tens of billions of dollars [2].…”