Falls And Its Associated Factor Among The Elderly: Results From An Elderly Screening Programme In Kelantan

Abstract

Falls in the elderly is one of the health issues. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of fall among the elderly and its associated factor. This was cross-sectional retrospective record review study. Data from the elderly health screening programme of government health clinics in Kota Bharu, Kelantan were obtained. All elderly who participated in the programme for year 2014 was eligible. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess for associated factors of falls with self-reported fall events. Data for n=434 participants were retrieved. The prevalence of falls among elderly who participated in the health screening programme was 23.3% (95% CI: 0.19, 0.27). This study demonstrated that falls was associated with age more than 80 years old (OR adj 32.20, 95% CI: 8.54, 121.39; p<0.001), being female (OR adj 0.46, 95% CI: 0.24, 0.87; p= 0.017), being employed (OR adj 0.04, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.26; p=0.001), obesity (OR adj 2.65, 95% CI: 1.20, 5.86; p= 0.016), symptoms of dizziness (OR adj 6.77, 95% CI: 1.39, 32.98; p= 0.018), imbalance and instability (OR adj 9.92, 95% CI: 1.39, 32.98; p<0.001), polypharmacy (OR adj 4.72, 95% CI: 1.20, 5.86; p=0.001) and increased waist circumference (OR adj 2.54, 95% CI: 1.29, 5.01; p=0.007). This study demonstrated that the prevalence of falls among elderly is still an issue and its associated factors should be intervened.