[Incidence of and circumstances related to falls among the elderly in a Japanese community].
In order to determine incidence of and the circumstances related to falls among the elderly in a community in Japan, general health surveys were carried out in 1988 and in 1989. Subjects for the first survey were 685 elderly residents (276 men, 409 women) aged 65 years and over, living in a rural village of Akita Prefecture. Subjects who were confined to bed almost all day were excluded from analysis. Subjects were interviewed regarding falls at both surveys. Results obtained were as follows; 1) Incidence of falls were 19.2% for men, and 20.3% for women at the first survey. There was no significant difference in incidence between sexes. 2) Age had no significant effect on incidence in either sex. 3) The incidence at the follow-up survey was significantly higher among those who had reported falls at the first survey than in those who had not (relative risk; men; 2.71, women 2.40, p less than 0.05). 4) Most falls occurred during the daytime in either sex, with approximately 90% of falls for men and 60% of falls for women occurring outdoors. The cause of falls was mainly extrinsic. Compared to men, falls of women had a greater tendency to lead to major injury.
Yasumura
S
S
Department of Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology.
Haga
H
H
Nagai
H
H
Shibata
H
H
Iwasaki
K
K
Ogawa
Y
Y
Ahiko
T
T
Ihara
K
K
D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003154:Community Medicine; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology