Gender Issues in Falls in Older Community Dwelling Adults

1998 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colette Browning ◽  
Keith Hill ◽  
Hal Kendig ◽  
Deborah Osborne

Falls are the leading cause of injury and hospitalisation for people aged 65 and over. It has been estimated that 20% of hospital admissions in this age group are a result of falls and Fildes (1994) reported that the costs of falls is about $2369 million annually in Victoria. The purpose of this paper is to present a profile of gender differences in the frequency and location of falls, fear of falling, and predictors of falls in community dwelling older adults.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Makino ◽  
S Lee ◽  
S Bae ◽  
I Chiba ◽  
K Harada ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective The present study aimed to examine the prospective associations of physical frailty with future falls and fear of falling (FOF) among community-dwelling older adults. Methods A prospective cohort study with a 48-month follow-up was conducted in a Japanese community. Participants were 2469 community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years or older who completed baseline and follow-up assessments at intervals of 48±2 months. Primary outcomes were recent falls (defined as at least one fall within the past year) and FOF (determined by response to “Are you afraid of falling?”) at follow-up survey. Physical frailty, operationalized by the frailty phenotype (slowness, weakness, exhaustion, weight loss, and low activity) based on the criteria of the Japanese version of the Cardiovascular Health Study (J-CHS), was also assessed as a predictor of future falls and FOF. Results Multivariate logistic regression showed that pre-frailty or frailty increase the risk of not only future falls (OR: 1.57; 95%CI = 1.20-2.05) but also FOF (OR: 1.33; 95%CI = 1.05-1.69). In addition, the relationship between baseline frailty status and future falls remained significant after adjusting for baseline FOF (OR: 1.55; 95%CI = 1.19-2.02), and the relationship between baseline frailty status and future FOF also remained significant after adjusting for baseline falls (OR: 1.32; 95%CI = 1.04-1.68). Conclusions Frailty status may predict future falls and FOF among community-dwelling older adults. Strategies to prevent frailty may be beneficial to prevent not only future falls but also future FOF in a community setting. Impact Falls and FOF have a close relationship but a different clinical meaning. Older adults with physical frailty may require monitoring as high-risk not only for falls but also for FOF.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Giovanna De Roza ◽  
David Wei Liang Ng ◽  
Blessy Koottappal Mathew ◽  
Teena Jose ◽  
Ling Jia Goh ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundFalls in older adults is a common problem worldwide. Fear of falling (FoF) is a consequence of falls which has far-reaching implications including activity restriction, functional decline and reduced quality of life. This study aimed to determine the factors associated with FoF in a segment of Singapore’s community-dwelling older adults. MethodsThis descriptive cross-sectional study recruited a convenience sample of adults aged 65 and above from 4 primary care clinics from September 2020 to March 2021. Data were collected on demographic factors and clinical factors including history of falls and frailty as determined by the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS). FoF was measured using the Short Falls Efficacy Scale–International (Short FES-I), cut-off score of 14 and above indicated high FoF. Logistic regression was used to determine predictors of high FoF.ResultsOut of 360 older adults, 78.1% were Chinese and 59.7% females. The mean age was 78.3 years and 76 (21.1%) had a history of falls in the past six months. Almost half (43.1%) were mildly to moderately frail and most (80.6%) had three or more chronic conditions. The mean FoF score was 15.5 (SD 5.97) and 60.8% reported high FoF. Logistic regression found that Malay ethnicity (OR = 5.81, 95% CI 1.77 – 19.13), use of walking aids (OR = 3.67, 95% CI = 1.54 – 8.77) and increasing frailty were significant predictors for high FoF. The odds of high FoF were significantly higher in pre frail older adults (OR = 6.87, 95% CI = 2.66 – 17.37), mildly frail older adults (OR =18.58, 95% CI = 4.88 – 70.34) and moderately frail older adults (OR = 144.78, 95% CI = 13.86 – 1512.60).ConclusionsFoF is a prevalent and compelling issue in community-dwelling older adults, particularly those with frailty. The demographic and clinical factors identified in this study will be helpful to develop targeted and tailored interventions for FoF.


Medicine ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 97 (4) ◽  
pp. e9721 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshihito Tomita ◽  
Kazuhiko Arima ◽  
Ritsu Tsujimoto ◽  
Shin-ya Kawashiri ◽  
Takayuki Nishimura ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (Supplement_4) ◽  
pp. iv18-iv27
Author(s):  
Tsuyoshi Asai ◽  
Kensuke Oshima ◽  
Yoshihiro Fukumoto ◽  
Shogo Misu

Abstract Aim To elucidate the association between the occurrence of falls and timed “up and go” (TUG) test score in a dual-task condition among community-dwelling older adults by age group. Methods This longitudinal observation study included 987 community-dwelling older adults at baseline. A TUG test (single-TUG) and a TUG test while counting aloud backward from 100 (dual-TUG) were conducted at baseline. The dual-task cost (DTC) value was computed from these results. Data on fall history were obtained using a self-administered questionnaire at the 1-year follow-up. At follow-up, 322 participants had dropped out and six participants had missing data for falls. The final analysis included 658 individuals (follow-up rate: 658/987, 67%) divided into a young-older adult group (aged 60–74 years) and an old-older adult group (aged 75 years or older). Associations between the occurrence of falls and TUG-related values were analyzed by age group using multivariate logistic regression models. Results For old-older adults, there were significant associations between the occurrence of falls and DTC value (odds ratio [OR] 0.981, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.963–0.999, p = 0.040) and single-TUG score (OR 1.129, 95% CI: 1.006–1.268, p = 0.039). However, no significant associations were observed for young-older adults. Conclusions Slower single-TUG test score and lower DTC value are associated with the occurrence of falls among old-older adults but not among young-older adults. Dual task assessment is useful for predicting falls in TUG fall assessment for old-older adults.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 1024-1031 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lida Hosseini ◽  
Elham Kargozar ◽  
Farshad Sharifi ◽  
Reza Negarandeh ◽  
Amir-Hossein Memari ◽  
...  

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