Frequency and factors associated with falls in adults aged 55 years or more

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to analyze the frequency and factors associated withfalls in adults aged 55 years or more.METHODS: This is a study inserted into another population-based study with representativesample of persons aged 40 years or more of the urban area in a medium-sized municipality ofthe State of Paraná, Brazil, in 2011. That study obtained demographic and socioeconomic dataand characteristics related to life habits, health conditions, and functional capacity (n = 1,180).In 2012, we selected all persons aged 55 years or more (n = 501). We have estimated grip strengthand the occurrence of a fall since the last interview in 80.6% of the adults. The crude and adjustedodds ratios (OR) have been calculated by logistic regression according to a hierarchical model.RESULTS: The rate of fall was 24.3%. After adjustments, we could observe higher chancesof falls among women (OR = 3.10; 95%CI 1.79–5.38), among persons aged 65 years or more(OR = 2.39; 95%CI 1.45–3.95), with poor sleep quality (OR = 1.78; 95%CI 1.08–2.93), and with lowgrip strength (OR = 2.31; 95%CI 1.34–3.97).CONCLUSIONS: Poor sleep quality and low muscle strength can be indicators of increasedrisk of falls and need assessments and interventions aimed at preventing them