History of Falls, Dementia, Lower Education Levels, Mobility Limitations, and Aging Are Risk Factors for Falls among the Community-Dwelling Elderly: A Cohort Study

Abstract

Background: Falling is a serious issue among elderly community dwellers, often resulting in disability. We aimed to investigate the risk factors for falls among elderly community dwellers. Methods: We recruited 232 participants from multiple community learning and care centers, who provided their information through questionnaires. They were divided into two groups, according to their falling events after a 1-year follow-up. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used for statistical analysis. Results: A total of 64 participants reported a fall at the 1-year follow-up. The falling group comprised older and single people with lower education levels, higher rates of dementia, a history of falls, lower scores on the Mini-Mental State Examination, and more disability functions when compared to the non-falling group (all p < 0.05). The regression model showed that a history of falls (OR: 62.011; p < 0.0001), lower education levels (OR: 4.088; p = 0.039), mild dementia (OR: 20.729; p = 0.028), older age (OR: 1.176; p < 0.0001), walking for 300 m (OR: 4.153; p = 0.030), and running for 30 m (OR: 3.402; p = 0.015) were 1-year risk factors for falls. Conclusion: A history of falling, low education levels, aging, mild dementia, and certain mobility limitations were strong risk factors for future falling accidents in elderly Taiwanese community dwellers.

An Online Dual-Task Cognitive and Motor Exercise Program for Individuals With Parkinson Disease (PD3 Move Program): Acceptability Study

“…Future programs should attempt to include individuals with cognitive limitations that reflect the type of frontal lobe deficits that are more impaired in fallers [42]. Importantly, a growing body of evidence suggests that there is an increased risk of falls in the presence of cognitive impairment [5,43,44] as well as in dementia [45,46], and this trend is present in both community-dwelling and institutionalized older populations. Hence, interventions that can potentially improve executive function and cognitive processes, in particular attention, have been recognized as a significant element in the process of treating balance and gait deficits in people with PD [18].…”

Characterisation of institutionalised Portuguese older adult fallers: is there a place for pharmacist intervention? A preliminary study

“…This is also in agreement with the results of other studies, in which there is a greater risk of falls in individuals with lower education. 34,38 Several studies have investigated physical health, gait and balance, and their relationship with falls in older adults. It is known that being physically healthy is associated with a lower risk of falling.…”

Relationship between Anemia and Falls among Postmenopausal Women in Korea

“…Factors related to falls include age, education level, family composition, residential area, economic activity, income level, alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity, chronic disease, and BMI. In the elderly in the community, the incidence of falls is higher with increasing age [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Women have been found to have a higher risk of falls than men [ 21 , 22 ], and the unemployed and blue-collared workers with lower income are at a greater risk of falls [ 21 ].…”

“…As a result of comparing the fall characteristics of the elderly in rural and urban areas, it has been confirmed that the lifetime fall history of the elderly in rural areas is greater than in urban areas [ 24 ]. The lower the educational level, the higher the risk of falls, and the higher the number of falls when living alone than when living with a spouse [ 21 , 23 , 25 ]. Drinking, smoking, physical activity, and chronic diseases are also associated with falls [ 25 ].…”