Prevalence and Factors Associated with Falls among Older Outpatients

Abstract

Falls in older people are a major public health issue, as they are associated with increased risks of morbidity and mortality. This study aims to investigate the prevalence and factors associated with falls among older outpatients. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 539 outpatients aged 60 and over at the National Geriatric Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam. Falls and their associated factors were analyzed by multivariable logistic regression. The prevalence of falls was 23.7% (single fall 17.9%, recurrent falls 5.8%). The majority of falls occurred at home (69.6%) and were caused by a slippery floor (51.6%). After falling, most patients sustained physical injuries (65.6%); notably, women suffered more severe injuries than men. Alcohol consumption, using psychotropic medications, having three or more comorbidities, hypertension, COPD, urinary incontinence, frailty, fear of falling, ADL/IADL limitation, slow walking speed and mobility impairment were significantly associated with falls. Overall, the data indicated that falls were prevalent among older outpatients. Behavior factors, comorbidities, geriatric syndromes and physical function were substantially associated with falls, suggesting that most falls are preventable. Further longitudinal studies of longer periods are needed to comprehensively investigate the risk factors for falls.

Falls Among Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study in Vietnam

“…Our study found that 23.1% of older adults visiting geriatric clinics experienced falls in the community during the two severe COVID-19 outbreaks. Since the prevalence of falls among Vietnamese geriatric outpatients before the pandemic was 23.7%, 16 our results suggest that there was no trend of increasing falls in this population during the pandemic.…”

“…A previous study showed that falls occurred in 23.7% of older outpatients in Vietnam. 16 Therefore, the required sample size for this study was a minimum of 810 participants with an allowable margin of error of 5%.…”

“…13 In Vietnam, a previous study showed that falls occurred in 23.7% of outpatients aged ≥60 years. 16 However, the patient enrollment for the previous study was conducted in 2018, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the results of the previous study cannot reflect the impact of the pandemic on falls in older adults and the pattern of falls in COVID-19 infected older individuals.…”

A Digital Health Service for Elderly People with Balance Disorders and Risk of Falling: A Design Science Approach

“…In most countries, the life expectancy growth rate has not been met by an increase in healthy life years [1][2][3][4][5]. With ageing, a growing prevalence of multiple comorbidities, chronic diseases, balance disorders and falls affecting the independence of the elderly has been observed [6][7][8][9][10][11]. However, healthy ageing does not mean disease-free.…”

How Can We Develop an Efficient eHealth Service for Provision of Care for Elderly People with Balance Disorders and Risk of Falling? A Mixed Methods Study

“…Elderly falls represent an important public health problem, being the main cause of accidental death in the population over 65 years of age [ 1 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Although Portugal has one of the lowest rates of fall-related mortality in the elderly population of the Western European region, this issue has received attention from the Portuguese government [ 11 ].…”