title: [Association between depression and fall risk among elderly community residents].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relationship between depression and fall risk in the elderly.
  
  
  METHODS
  Residents of a village in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan (563 people), aged ≥65 years were given a self-administered questionnaire survey between June and July 2010. To evaluate depression status and fall risk, the Geriatric Depression Scale--Short Form and the Simple Screening Test for Risk of Falls were administered. Adjustment factors assessed were age, sex, medical history for diseases associated with falls, usage of hypnotics, and cognitive dysfunction. We examined the relationship between depression and fall risk using multiple logistic regression analysis. Given that some degree of correlation was expected among adjustment factors in the model, we constructed a model that introduced the adjustment factors stepwise to confirm the robustness of the model and any effect of multicollinearity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall (n=395), after excluding data from participants with significant cognitive disturbance or severe physical problems from among valid responders, a significant relationship was found between depression and fall risk in all models. The odds ratio was 2.28 (95% confidence interval: 1.31-3.96) in the final model, controlling for all adjustment factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest a significant relationship between depression and fall risk in the elderly. This relationship implies that the improvement of depression could be an effective measure to decrease fall risk in the elderly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Fukuoka University, School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Mari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kusaga
authors.forename: Kayo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ushijima
authors.forename: Chiho
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Watanabe
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control; D000368:Aged; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires