Heterogeneity of falls among older adults: implications for public health prevention
UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of Medicine, Division of Preventive and Behavioral MedicineDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2012-11-01Keywords
Accidental FallsBehavioral Disciplines and Activities
Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms
Community Health and Preventive Medicine
Geriatrics
Preventive Medicine
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Objectives. We examined risk factors for falls among older people according to indoor and outdoor activity at the time of the fall and explored risk factors for seriously injurious falls. Methods. Data came from MOBILIZE Boston, a prospective cohort study of 765 community-dwelling women and men, mainly aged 70 years or older. Over 4.3 years, 1737 falls were recorded, along with indoor or outdoor activity at the time of the fall. Results. Participants with poor baseline health characteristics had elevated rates of indoor falls while transitioning, walking, or not moving. Healthy, active people had elevated rates of outdoor falls during walking and vigorous activity. For instance, participants with fast, rather than normal, gait speed, had a rate ratio of 7.36 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.54, 21.28) for outdoor falls during vigorous activity. The likelihood of a seriously injurious fall also varied by personal characteristics, activity, and location. For example, the odds ratio for serious injury from an outdoor fall while walking outside compared to inside a participant's neighborhood was 3.31 (95% CI = 1.33, 8.23). Conclusions. Fall prevention programs should be tailored to personal characteristics, activities, and locations.Source
Jennifer L. Kelsey, Elizabeth Procter-Gray, Marian T. Hannan, and Wenjun Li. Heterogeneity of Falls Among Older Adults: Implications for Public Health Prevention. American Journal of Public Health: November 2012, Vol. 102, No. 11, pp. 2149-2156. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.300677 Link to article on publisher's siteDOI
10.2105/AJPH.2012.300677Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/44821PubMed ID
22994167Related Resources
Link to Article in PubMedae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.2105/AJPH.2012.300677