title: [Falls in the Spanish elderly population: Incidence, consequences and risk factors].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Falls in the elderly constitute a public health concern. The objective of the present study was to collect updated data on the frequency of falls in the Spanish elderly population, as well as to analyse their consequences and associated risk factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  This prospective study was conducted on a probabilistic sample of 772 Spanish, community dwelling, older adults. During the baseline visit, data were collected on functional capacity, history of falls, disease background, number of medications used, balance impairment, use of walking aids, cognitive capacity and depression symptoms. Participants were followed up for one year by means of quarterly phone calls, where they were asked about the number of falls occurred in that period, as well as their consequences and associated use of healthcare resources.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the one-year follow up period, 28.4% (95%CI 24.9-32.1) of participants suffered one or more falls, while 9.9% (95%CI 7.4-11.4) suffered multiple falls. One-third of the falls were due to accidental extrinsic causes. Among participants who had suffered falls, 9.3% suffered a fracture (3.1% hip fracture), and 55.4% required healthcare services (29% were managed in the hospital emergency room, and 7.3% were admitted to hospital). Risk factors identified through multivariate analysis were: advanced age (>79 years), not having a companion, using more than 2 drugs, dependency in BADLs, impaired strength or balance, and use of walking aids.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Falls continue to be a major public health concern in Spain. Given that some of the associated risk factors may be modified, introducing programs aimed at tackling this problem should be regarded as a priority.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Geriatría, Consorci Sanitari del Garraf, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona, España; Unidad de Investigación Clínica, Fundación Privada Sant Antoni Abat, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona, España; School of Engineering and Informatics, National University of Ireland at Galway, Galway, Ireland. Electronic address: arodriguez@csg.cat.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Molinero
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Geriatría, Consorci Sanitari del Garraf, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona, España; Unidad de Investigación Clínica, Fundación Privada Sant Antoni Abat, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona, España.
authors.forename: Leire
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Narvaiza
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Geriatría, Consorci Sanitari del Garraf, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona, España; Unidad de Investigación Clínica, Fundación Privada Sant Antoni Abat, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona, España.
authors.forename: César
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gálvez-Barrón
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina Preventiva y Salud Pública, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, España.
authors.forename: Juan José
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: de la Cruz
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Investigación Clínica, Fundación Privada Sant Antoni Abat, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona, España.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ruíz
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Investigación Clínica, Fundación Privada Sant Antoni Abat, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona, España.
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gonzalo
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Investigación Clínica, Fundación Privada Sant Antoni Abat, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona, España.
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Valldosera
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Geriatría, Consorci Sanitari del Garraf, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona, España; Unidad de Investigación Clínica, Fundación Privada Sant Antoni Abat, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona, España.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yuste
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Bone fractures; Caídas; Factores de riesgo; Falls; Fracturas; Hospitalisation; Hospitalización; Incidence; Incidencia; Risk factors