Associations of sleep quality and fall risk among older adult outpatients at Thai Binh Medical University Hospital, Northern Vietnam

Abstract

Introduction: Poor sleep quality negatively impact health, reducing quality of life and increasing disease risk. For the elderly, poor sleep quality lead to fatigue and reduced mobility, increasing the risk of falls. In Vietnam, no studies have explored the relationship between sleep quality and fall risk in the elderly. This study aimed to determine the correlation between sleep quality and fall risk among the elderly, providing knowledge for fall prevention in this population in Vietnam. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 404 elderly patients who visited and were treated as outpatients at Thai Binh University Hospital from October 2023 to June 2024. Direct interviews were conducted using the Fall Risk Questionnaire (FRQ) from STEADI-CDC-2017 (USA), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) with a cut-off score of 7 to assess sleep quality. The FRQ tool used a cut-off score of 4 to evaluate fall risk. Results: The percentage of elderly at risk of falls was 19.6%. The average PSQI score was 11.0 ± 2.7, with 358 (88.6%) elderly patients showing poor sleep quality. Logistic regression analysis showed that higher PSQI scores in the elderly significantly correlated with an increased risk of falls (OR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.02–1.32, p = 0.03). Elderly individuals with the highest PSQI scores had a higher risk of falls compared to those with the lowest PSQI scores. Conclusion: Poor sleep quality are closely related to fall risk among the elderly, alongside other factors such as religion, education, comorbidities, and participation in recreational activities.