title: Incidence rate of falls in an aged population in northern Finland.
abstract: The total elderly population aged 70 years or over living in five rural districts in northern Finland, 1159 persons in all, were monitored by 'phone prospectively for 1 year, all falls being recorded separately for those living at home and in institutions. Of those living at home, 30% fell at least once during the year, 19% just once, this proportion not depending on age or sex. The home-dwelling men and women experienced 368/1000 PY and 611/1000 PY falls, respectively, the incidences tending to increase with advancing age. The men in institutions experienced 2021 falls/1000 PY and the women 1423/1000 PY, without clear age dependence. The home-dwelling women had a greater risk of falling repeatedly than the men, but the sex differences disappeared with advancing age. The falls among home-dwellers were concentrated in the day-time, whereas no variation with time of day was found in the institutions. Falls are common in the elderly, but their incidence and certain characteristics differ considerably between the home-dwellers and those living in institutions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Science and General Practice, University of Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Luukinen
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Koski
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hiltunen
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Kivelä
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007326:Institutionalization; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012424:Rural Population; D012737:Sex Factors