title: A case-control study on risk factors of domestic accidents in an elderly population.
abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the combined influence of several lifestyle, health and housing factors in the occurrence of home injuries (HIs) among the elderly. The subjects were recruited from 10 hospitals in Rome, Italy. This study is a paired case-control study. Cases included subjects, aged 65-85 years, who visited the Emergency Department for an HI and were subsequently hospitalised (15 September 2004-30 June 2005). Controls were the subjects of the same gender, age (±3 years) and area of residence of cases. A conditional logistic regression model was used for analysing the variables obtained. In this study, we enrolled 107 hospitalised cases. It was found that the living room was the place where 33% of the accidents occurred. Eighty-seven per cent of the accidents were falls, and 33% of the accidents were the immediate consequence of sudden malaise. One-half of the cases reported one or more leg fractures. The variables that were independently associated with HI were poor household illumination, poor emotional status, regular physical activities and housekeeping activities. We conclude that this study shows the areas of intervention to target HI prevention activities.
authors.affiliation: Public Health Agency of Lazio Region, Rome, Italy. camilloni@asplazio.it
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Camilloni
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Farchi
authors.forename: Paolo Giorgi
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chini
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Giorgio
authors.forename: Nunzio
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Molino
authors.forename: Amalia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iannone
authors.forename: Piero
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Borgia
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Guasticchi
mesh_terms: D000061:Accidents, Home / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D007558:Italy; D008019:Life Style; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires