The Relationship between Self-Rated Economic Status and Falls among the Elderly in Shandong Province, China

Abstract

(1) Background: Older people are more vulnerable and likely to have falls and the consequences of these falls place a heavy burden on individuals, families and society. Many factors directly or indirectly affect the prevalence of falls. The aims of this study were to understand the prevalence and risk factors of falls among the elderly in Shandong, China; the relationship between economic level and falls was also preliminary explored. (2) Methods: Using a multi-stage stratified sampling method, 7070 elderly people aged 60 and over were selected in Shandong Province, China. General characteristics and a self-rated economic status were collected through face to face interviews. Chi-square tests, rank sum tests and two logistic regression models were performed as the main statistical methods. (3) Results: 8.59% of participants reported that they had experienced at least one fall in the past half year. There was a significant difference in experienced falls regarding gender, residence, marital status, educational level, smoking, drinking, hypertension, diabetes, coronary disease, and self-reported hearing. The worse the self-rated economic status, the higher the risk of falling, (poor and worried about livelihood, OR = 3.60, 95%; CI = 1.76–7.35). (4) Conclusions: Women, hypertension, diabetes and self-reported hearing loss were identified as the risk factors of falls in the elderly. The difference of economic level affects the falls of the elderly in rural and urban areas. More fall prevention measures should be provided for the elderly in poverty.

Incidence of accidental falls and development of a fall risk prediction model among elderly patients with diabetes mellitus: A prospective cohort study

“…In our study period, incidence of accidental falls (9.79%) in elderly diabetic patients was consistent with a cross‐sectional study of 1002 elderly diabetes patients during 6 months in Shandong, China, 11.08% suffered accidental falls (Hong et al, 2020). However, the fall rate was lower than that reported in domestic and foreign studies, such as those in America (37.5%) (Blackwood, 2019) Singapore (17.53%) (Gupta et al, 2017), Malaysia (18.7%) (Sahril et al, 2020) and India (29.1%) (Marmamula et al, 2020).…”

“…In our study period, incidence of accidental falls (9.79%) in elderly diabetic patients was consistent with a cross-sectional study of 1002 elderly diabetes patients during 6 months in Shandong, China, 11.08% suffered accidental falls (Hong et al, 2020).…”

Association Between Sensory Loss and Falls Among Middle-Aged and Older Chinese Population: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Analyses

“…Potential reasons may lie in the variability in how HL and falls were assessed and cohort characteristics. Similarly, several cross-sectional studies performed in our population have yielded mixed results as well (6,10,15,16).…”

“…Therefore, longitudinal study is needed. However, researches on hearing loss and falls have yield mixed results ( 6 , 10 , 15 , 16 ). Also, the impact of Dual Sensory Loss (DSL) on falls has been barely explored before in our population as well.…”

The impact of social capital on successful ageing of empty nesters: A cross‐sectional study

“…Second, empty nesters with caregiving support were more likely to achieve successful ageing. The emotional comfort and life care provided by home care support in elderly individuals' later years have a role that is unmatched by social security (Yang, 2017). Effective home care support not only promotes the physical health of elderly individuals (Xinyu et al, 2021) but also increases their life satisfaction (Huang & Fu, 2021), thus contributing to their successful ageing.…”