title: Mortality and profiles of community-dwelling fallers. Results from the EPIDOS cohort.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess long-term survival of community-dwelling elderly women after a fall according to various characteristics of whom four falling profiles.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 329 women (mean age±SD: 84±3.5 years). Phone interviews were conducted every four months over four years to investigate the occurrence of falls and fill out a specific questionnaire. The vital status was checked up to 13 years after these four years. An accelerated failure-time model was used to estimate the effect of the falling profiles on women survival.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the four-year follow-up, 86 women (26%) belonged to the "outside falls" profile, 63 (19%) to "environmental falls", 140 (43%) to "inside falls", and 40 (12%) to "falls from height". At 13 years, the survival probability was estimated at 20.8% [95% CI: 16.4-25.2%]. On average, women with "inside falls" had shorter survivals in comparison with each of the other falling profiles. Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed also shorter survivals of these women vs. all other women grouped together (HR=1.33 [1.02-1.73], p=0.03).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Elderly women with inside falls had shorter survivals than others. Indoor falls could be markers of an underlying frailty and should trigger adequate prevention and protection measures.
authors.affiliation: Service de Biostatistique, Hospices Civils de Lyon, F-69003 Lyon, France; CNRS UMR 5558, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Equipe Biotatistique-Santé, F-69100 Villeurbanne, France. Electronic address: sbailly@chu-grenoble.fr.
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bailly
authors.affiliation: Pôle Information Médicale Evaluation Recherche, Hospices Civils de Lyon, F-69003 Lyon, France; INSERM U1033, F-69000 Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Haesebaert
authors.affiliation: Pôle Information Médicale Evaluation Recherche, Hospices Civils de Lyon, F-69003 Lyon, France; INSERM U1033, F-69000 Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Evelyne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Decullier
authors.affiliation: INSERM, UMR S953, IFR 69, Epidemiological Research Unit in Perinatal Health and Women's and Children's Health, F-94807 Villejuif, France; Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Université Paris 6), UMR S953, F-75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dargent-Molina
authors.affiliation: Département de Neurosciences, Division de Gériatrie, Centre Hospitalier Universitarie d'Angers, F-49100 Angers, France; UPRES EA 2646, Université d'Angers, F-49000 Angers, France; Université Nantes Angers Le Mans, F-44200 Nantes, France.
authors.forename: Cedric
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Annweiler
authors.affiliation: Département de Neurosciences, Division de Gériatrie, Centre Hospitalier Universitarie d'Angers, F-49100 Angers, France; UPRES EA 2646, Université d'Angers, F-49000 Angers, France; Université Nantes Angers Le Mans, F-44200 Nantes, France.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Beauchet
authors.affiliation: Pôle Information Médicale Evaluation Recherche, Hospices Civils de Lyon, F-69003 Lyon, France; INSERM U1033, F-69000 Lyon, France; Université de Lyon, F-69000 Lyon, France; Université Lyon 1, F-69100 Villeurbanne, France.
authors.forename: Anne-Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Schott
authors.affiliation: Service de Biostatistique, Hospices Civils de Lyon, F-69003 Lyon, France; CNRS UMR 5558, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Equipe Biotatistique-Santé, F-69100 Villeurbanne, France; Université de Lyon, F-69000 Lyon, France; Université Lyon 1, F-69100 Villeurbanne, France.
authors.forename: Muriel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rabilloud
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D009026:Mortality; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Accelerated failure-time model; Disability; Elderly women; Fall; Long-term prognosis