Factors Associated with Falls in the Elderly: A Community Study

Abstract

In 2793 respondents aged 65 and over in a survey of a geographically defined community, who were asked about falls in the preceding twelve months, the estimated annual prevalence rate (persons) of falls was 28.0%. Standardized for age, the rate was twice as high in women as in men. Rates increased with age but more steeply in men than in women. Compared with non-fallers, fallers had been in more recent contact with their general practitioner, showed higher prevalence of problems with mobility and daily living, a more frequent history of stroke and heart disease, and had more episodes of non-rotatory vertigo, double vision, faints and blackouts and episodes of weakness or numbness. Fallers also showed more frequent evidence suggestive of cognitive impairment. More fallers than non-fallers were taking diuretics and tranquilizers and these associations merit further study.

Accidents in older people living at home: a community‐based study assessing prevalence, type, location and injuries

“…Problems with mobility, balance and gait have been consistently identified as risk factors for falls. 18 This study, like previous studies, found considerable rates and outcomes of falls. The potential burden of illness associated with non-fall accidents warrants investigation in larger studies over a longer time frame.…”

Characteristics and circumstances of falls leading to severe fractures in elderly people in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

“…Consistent with most findings from developed countries, in our sample, falls leading to severe fractures occurred predominantly in women 1,8,9 . This finding probably reflects both the higher rates of falls among women found in most incidence studies 10,11 and the fact that women are more likely than men to sustain fractures when they fall.…”

Uso de medicamentos como fator de risco para fratura grave decorrente de queda em idosos

“…Há referência à redução desse risco (LaCroix et al, 1990;Ray et al, 1989), ao aumento (Cumming et al, 1991;Prudham & Evans, 1981) ou ausência de associação (Leipzig et al, 1999b). O possível efeito protetor dos diuréticos tiazídicos tem sido atribuído a uma redução na excreção urinária de cálcio, com conseqüente aumento da densidade ós-sea.…”