Falls and functional capacity in the oldest old dwelling in the community

Abstract

The aim was to verify the association between falls and functional capacity in the oldest old dwelling in the community. This is a community-based cross-sectional study. The population was comprised of elderly citizens aged greater than 80 years, residing in the urban area of Lafaiete Coutinho, in the state of Bahia, Brazil. Data collection was carried out in January of 2011. It was based on home life, using a questionnaire capturing sociodemographic data, fall occurrences and functional capacity utilizing the Katz scale. Data analysis was done through Poisson regression, adopting a significance level of 5%. Ninety-four elderly citizens were interviewed, with an average age of 86.1 years (±6,39); 59.6% of the participants were female. The fall prevalence was 27. 7% and 19. 6% of the participants were classified as dependent for activities of daily living. A strong association was identified between falls and functional activities (RP=2.08; 1.17 - 3.70). Results showed a significantly higher proportion of falls among the functionally dependent oldest old than among the independent elderly.