Prevalence of falls in elderly people: a population based study

Almeida, Letícia Maria da Silva; Meucci, Rodrigo Dalke; Dumith, Samuel C.

doi:10.1590/1806-9282.65.11.1397

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Original Article • Rev. Assoc. Med. Bras. 65 (11) • Nov 2019 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9282.65.11.1397 copy

Prevalence of falls in elderly people: a population based study

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION:

The occurrence of falls is related to a complex interaction of risk factors, aggravated by aging. This research aimed to investigate the occurrence of falls in the elderly, as well as to identify the risk factors for this event.

METHODS:

A cross-sectional, population-based study conducted in a municipality in the extreme south of Brasil. Probabilistic sampling was used, the sample unit being the census tracts. Data were collected through home interviews. The research was approved by the research ethics committee.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:

This study was performed using a sample of 211 elderly individuals. The prevalence of falls was 28.9% (95% CI 22.8 to 35.0). (P = 0.01), living alone (p = 0.04), self-perception of regular or poor health (p = 0.03), and obesity (p= 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS:

We found that approximately one in three elderly individuals fell in the last year.

KEYWORDS:
Aged; Accidental falls; Public health; Epidemiology; Risk factors

Variable		N	%
Age range (years)
	65 to 69	77	36.5
	70 to 79	99	46.9
	≥80	35	16.6
Gender
	Male	80	37.9
	Female	131	62.1
Skin color
	White	180	85.3
	Others	31	14.7
Marital status
	Married	108	51.2
	Single, separated, widowed	103	48.8
Lives alone
	No	167	79.1
	Yes	44	20.9
Formal education (years)
	0 to 8	140	66.7
	≥9	70	33.3
Index of property (tertiles)
	1 (lower)	85	40.3
	2 (intermediate)	52	24.6
	3 (higher)	74	35.1
Physical activity during leisure
	No	147	70.3
	Yes	62	29.7
Self-perception of health
	Excellent/very good/good	107	50.7
	Regular/bad	104	49.3
Stress (tertiles)
	1 (lower)	87	41.8
	2 (intermediate)	72	34.6
	3 (higher)	49	23.6
Hypertension
	No	89	42.2
	Yes	122	57.8
Arthritis or rheumatism
	No	149	70.6
	Yes	62	29.4
Chronic back pain
	No	157	74.4
	Yes	54	25.6
Obesity
	No	157	79.7
	Yes	40	20.3
Total		211	100.0

Variable		% falls	Unadjusted analysis		Adjusted analysis
			PR(95%CI)	P-value	PR(95%CI)	P-value
Age range (years)				0.38		0.33
	65 to 69	23.4	1.00		1.00
	70 to 79	33.3	1.43 (0.86; 2.36)		1.45 (0.89; 2.36)
	≥80	28.6	1.22 (0.65; 2.35)		1.20 (0.64; 2.24)
Gender				0.01		0.01
	Male	17.5	1.00		1.00
	Female	35.9	2.05 (1.19; 3.55)		1.98 (1.16; 3.37)
Skin color				0.36		0.16
	White	27.8	1.00		1.00
	Others	35.5	1.28 (0.75; 2.18)		1.41 (0.87; 2.30)
Marital status				0.19		0.44
	Married	25.0	1.00		1.00
	Single, separated, widowed	33.0	1.32 (0.87; 2.01)		0.81 (0.46; 1.40)
Lives alone				0.02		0.04
	No	25.2	1.00		1.00
	Yes	43.2	1.72 (1.11; 2.66)		1.60 (1.03; 2.49)
Formal education (years)				0.28		0.57
	0 to 8	31.4	1.29 (0.81; 2.08)		1.14 (0.72; 1.82)
	≥12	24.3	1.00		1.00
Index of property (tertiles)				0.04		0.17
	1 (lower)	38.8	1.69 (1.02; 2.80)		1.52 (0.87; 2.66)
	2 (intermediate)	21.2	0.92 (0.47; 1.79)		0.91 (0.47; 1.75)
	3 (higher)	23.0	1.00		1.00
Physical activity during leisure				0.20		0.26
	No	31.3	1.39 (0.84; 2.29)		1.32 (0.81; 2.13)
	Yes	22.6	1.00		1.00
Self-perception of health				0.01		0.03
	Excellent/very good/good	9.1	1.00		1.00
	Regular/bad	39.4	2.11 (1.26; 3.53)		1.78 (1.06; 3.00)
Stress (tertiles)				0.14^* * P-value of the test for linear trend		0.85^* * P-value of the test for linear trend
	1 (lower)	24.1	1.00		1.00
	2 (intermediate)	29.2	1.21 (0.68; 2.14)		1.04 (0.62; 1.76)
	3 (higher)	36.7	1.52 (0.88; 2.64)		1.05 (0.59; 1.87)
Hypertension				0.05		0.58
	No	21.4	1.00		1.00
	Yes	34.4	1.61 (1.00; 2.60)		1.18 (0.66; 2.11)
Arthritis or rheumatism				0.54		0.62
	No	27.5	1.00		1.00
	Yes	32.3	1.17 (0.70; 1.97)		0.85 (0.45; 1.61)
Chronic back pain				0.38		0.36
	No	27.4	1.00		1.00
	Yes	33.3	1.22 (0.78; 1.90)		0.82 (0.52; 1.27)
Obesity				0.01		0.01
	No	24.2	1.00		1.00
	Yes	42.5	1.76 (1.15; 2.68)		1.70 (1.16; 2.51)

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[1] CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Miss Letícia Almeida, Rua Visconde de Paranaguá 102, Rio Grande, RS, Brasil - CEP 96201-900 Tel: +55 (53) 3233.8800 E-mail: leticiamsalmeida@hotmail.com