Fall Risk in Elderly with Insomnia in Western Romania—A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Falls are frequent among the elderly, imply large social and economic costs, and have serious outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the links between insomnia, comorbidities, multisite pain, physical activity, and fall risk in the elderly. Materials and Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study included persons recruited from nursing homes for the elderly in Timisoara. We separated the participants into two groups by the absence (group I) or presence of fractures (group II) starting with the age of 65 years. Participants were asked how they feel about their sleep using one item on a 4-point scale from the Assessment of Quality of Life questionnaire. The risk of fall was evaluated using the Falls Risk Assessment Tool. Results: The study enrolled 140 patients with a mean age of 78.4 ± 2.4 years (range 65–98 years), 55 of them being males (39%). By comparing the two groups, we found that the elderly with a history of fractures had a greater number of comorbidities, a higher risk of fall, and more severe sleep disturbances. When using univariate logistic regression, the occurrence of fractures in the elderly was significantly associated with the number of comorbidities, the risk of fall, and the presence of sleep disturbances (p < 0.0001). The multivariate regression analysis selected four independent parameters significantly linked to fractures, and these were the number of comorbidities (p < 0.03), the risk of fall score (p < 0.006), and the sleep disturbances of type 3 (p < 0.003) and 4 (p = 0.001). Conclusions: A fall-risk score over 14 and a number of comorbidities over 2 were notably associated with the occurrence of fractures. We also found strong positive correlations between the type of sleep disturbance and the risk of fall score, the number of comorbidities, and the number of fractures in the elderly.

Elderly Individuals Residing in Nursing Homes in Western Romania Who Have Been Diagnosed with Hearing Loss are at a Higher Risk of Experiencing Cognitive Impairment

“…According to Pichora-Fuller et al’s framework for understanding effortful listening (FUEL), listening effort also relies on the desire of the listener to expend their mental effort to remain listening in any scenario. 35 In other words, listening effort depends on how much the listener wants to put in the effort to listen. The “sensory deprivation” theory is the second one, and it states that cognitive decline may be caused by sensory loss in later life.…”

“…This is because cognitive deterioration reflects the impact of decreasing sensory stimulation. [34][35][36][37][38] The "common cause" theory is the third one, and it suggests that the correlations between sensory functioning and cognitive capacity may develop as a result of age-related characteristics that are common to both. 34 Individuals who have sensory impairments may be at a disadvantage in their performance on psychometric tests as a direct consequence of problems in sensory perception.…”

Sleep quality and falls in middle-aged and older adults: ELSI-Brazil study

“…Sleep disorders, such as the frequency of nocturnal awakenings, contribute to diminished sleep quality, consequently correlating with an increased susceptibility to falls ( 20 ) . This conclusion stems from an initial study published in 2007 ( 21 ) , which established an association between sleep patterns and falls.…”

Analysis of the Level of Adiponectin and Selected Cytokines in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis

“…The World Health Organization (WHO) assesses that by Medicina 2024, 60, 571 2 of 13 2025 the number of the elderly population will grow by 414% compared to the year 1990 [2]. Moreover, estimates suggest that the proportion of people aged 65 and above will reach 16% of the worldwide population [3]. Thus, this phenomenon leads to an increase in cases of prevalence of KOA [1].…”