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

Yan-Yuh Lee, Chien-Liang Chen, I-Chen Lee, I-Ching Lee and Nai-Ching Chen
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Yan-Yuh Lee: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan
Chien-Liang Chen: Division of Nephrology, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung 813, Taiwan
I-Chen Lee: Department of Healthcare Administration and Medical Informatics, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
I-Ching Lee: Ever Blessing Clinic, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan
Nai-Ching Chen: Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 17, 1-9

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.

Keywords: previous falling event; reduced cognition; Alzheimer dementia; elderly; fall (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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