Is a fall just a fall: correlates of falling in healthy older persons. The Health, Aging and Body Composition Study.
OBJECTIVE
To identify factors associated with falling in well-functioning older people.


METHODS
Cross-sectional analyses of report of falls over the past 12 months using baseline data from the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study.


METHODS
Clinic examinations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, or Memphis, Tennessee.


METHODS
Three thousand seventy-five high-functioning black and white elderly aged 70 to 79 living in the community.


METHODS
Physical function assessed using self-report and performance measures. Health status indicators included diseases, medication use, and body composition measures.


RESULTS
Almost one-quarter (24.1%) of women and 18.3% of men reported at least one fall within the year before the baseline examination. Fallers were more likely to be female; white; report more chronic diseases and medications; and have lower leg strength, poorer balance, slower 400-meter walk time, and lower muscle mass. In men, multivariate logistic regression models showed white race (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.2-1.6), slower 6-meter walk speed (OR = 1.1, 95% CI = 1.0-1.3), poor standing balance (OR = 1.2, 95% CI = 1.0-1.4), inability to do 5 chair stands (OR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.3-1.9), report of urinary incontinence (UI) (OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.1-2.0), and mid-quintile of leg muscle strength (OR = 0.6, 95% CI = 0.4-0.9) to be independently associated with report of falling. In women, benzodiazepine use (OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.0-2.6), UI (OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.2-1.9), and reported difficulty in rising from a chair (OR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.2-1.6) were associated with past falls.


CONCLUSIONS
Falls history needs to be screened in healthier older adults. Even for well-functioning older persons, specific correlates of falling can be identified to define those at risk.
de Rekeneire
Nathalie
N
Laboratory of Epidemiology, Demography and Biometry and Gerontology Research Center, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA. rekenein@nia.nih.gov
Visser
Marjolein
M
Peila
Rita
R
Nevitt
Michael C
MC
Cauley
Jane A
JA
Tylavsky
Frances A
FA
Simonsick
Eleanor M
EM
Harris
Tamara B
TB
D000058:Accidental Falls; D000368:Aged / Q000502:physiology*; D000886:Anthropometry; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D009142:Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; D012307:Risk Factors; D012647:Self-Assessment; D016138:Walking