Predictors for occasional and recurrent falls in community-dwelling older people.

BACKGROUND

Little is known about the prevalence of falls and the related risk factors in the general population of community-living older people in Germany.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the prevalence and related predictors of different types of falls in a sample of community-dwelling 65 years and older people in Germany living in a metropolitan area. Study design and setting prospective cohort study in 622 community dwelling people aged > or =65 years.

RESULTS

A total of 107 persons (17.2%) reported falling at least once (occasional fallers), while 36 (5.7%) experienced two or more falls (recurrent fallers) in the last 6 months. Main predictors for all fallers were age (OR 1.8; 95% CI 1.1-3.0), being female (OR 1.7; 95% CI 1.1-2.2), living alone (OR 1.9; 95% CI 1.2-2.9), poor health status (OR 3.3; 95% CI 2.1-5.3), varifocals (OR 1.7; 95% CI 1.0-3.1), disturbance of memory (OR 1.7; 95% CI 1.0-3.0), depression (OR 4.8; 95% CI 2.5-9.2), sleep disturbances (OR 2.7; 95% CI 1.7-4.3), incontinence (OR 2.1; 95% CI 1.3-4.9), dizziness (OR 3.0; 95% CI 1.9-5.0), 3 medical conditions or more (OR 3.3; 95% CI 2.1-5.1), lower physical functioning and mobility. Two of the strongest predictors were reported falls (OR 4.9; 95% CI 3.1-7.7) and recurrent falls (OR 10.0; 95% CI 5.0-20.0) in the last 6 months.

CONCLUSION

Older adults living at home should be screened for falls in history and problems in gait and mobility in any anamnesis to identify those who are at risk for falls.