Causes and risk factors of falls in patients with Parkinson's disease.
OBJECTIVE
Falls are a common and serious problem among Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. However, knowledge about the causes and risk factors of falls is limited. There have been a few attempts to classify the causes of falls. The classification suggested by Olanow seems to be the most comprehensive one. The aim of this study was to analyze retrospectively the causes of falls and risk factors of falls in PD patients.


METHODS
One hundred and four patients with moderately advanced PD were included in the study. The patients were asked to describe the circumstances and consequences of falls which occurred during 12 months preceding the examination. The falls were classified according to the Olanow classification of causes of falls.


RESULTS
Fifty-two patients (50%) reported at least one fall during the previous year with a mean number of 1.5 falls per year. The most common causes of falls were environmental factors, sudden falls and postural instability. There were no falls caused by severe dyskinesia, drugs or cardiovascular disorders. The only independent risk factors of the recurrent falls identified in this study were UPDRS part II score (OR 1.17, 95% CI: 1.02-1.37) and Mini Mental State Examination score (OR 0.85, 95% CI: 0.72-0.99).


CONCLUSIONS
Considering these results we may be able to prevent most falls by means of the education of patients about environmental factors and using adequate rehabilitation techniques concentrating on postural stability and gait.
Rudzińska
Monika
M
Department of Neurology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków.
Bukowczan
Sylwia
S
Banaszkiewicz
Krzysztof
K
Stozek
Joanna
J
Zajdel
Katarzyna
K
Szczudlik
Andrzej
A
D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015984:Causality; D015897:Comorbidity; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D020233:Gait Disorders, Neurologic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011044:Poland / Q000453:epidemiology; D011187:Posture; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires