title: Alcohol as a risk factor for fall injury events among elderly persons living in the community.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine if alcohol use is a risk factor for fall injury events among community-dwelling older persons.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case-control study.
  
  
  METHODS
  South Miami Beach, Florida.
  
  
  METHODS
  320 persons 65 or older who sought treatment at six area hospitals for injuries resulting from falls; 609 controls, matched for sex and age, selected randomly from Health Care Financing Administration (Medicare) files.
  
  
  METHODS
  Self-reported current alcohol use.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No association was found between fall injury events and average weekly alcohol use.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Further efforts at reducing injuries to older persons from falls should concentrate on other modifiable risk factors, including adequate treatment of underlying medical conditions, reducing inappropriate psychotropic medication use, and installing safety devices in the home.
authors.affiliation: Division of Injury Control, National Center for Environmental Health and Injury Control, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Sattin
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Langlois
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: DeVito
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Stevens
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000061:Accidents, Home / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000150:complications; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D005431:Florida / Q000453:epidemiology; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000150:complications; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000009:adverse effects; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs