title: [Prevalence and factors associated with the risk of falls among the elderly registered in a primary healthcare unit of the city of Natal in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil].
abstract: The scope of the study was to analyze the prevalence and factors associated with falls among the elderly registered in a Primary Healthcare Unit (PHU) in Natal, State of Rio Grande do Norte. It involved a cross-sectional study conducted with 280 elderly individuals with data collected at the primary healthcare unit. The association between falls, recurrent falls and independent variables was assessed using bivariate analysis and Poisson regression with calculation of their respective prevalence ratios. It involved predominantly elderly females (68.2%) with mean age of 71.6 years (± 6.7), literate (54.6%), non-retired (73.5%) and sedentary (87.1%). 53.6% of the elderly recorded falls and 27.8% fell twice or more. The predictive model of falls included the female gender (PR= 1.81), osteoarticular diseases (PR = 1.71) and balance impairment (PR = 0.88), while functional mobility (PR = 0.94), fear of falling (PR = 1.21) and balance deficit disorders (PR = 0.80) constituted the definitive model of recurrent falls. A higher prevalence of single fall episodes was found and the associated factors included sociodemographic, health and physical performance variables. On the other hand, the occurrence of two or more falls were only associated with physical performance variables.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisioterapia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Caicó, RN, Brasil, robertafisiojp@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Roberta Kelly Mendonça
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: dos Santos
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisioterapia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Caicó, RN, Brasil, robertafisiojp@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Álvaro Campos Cavalcanti
authors.initials: ÁC
authors.lastname: Maciel
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisioterapia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Caicó, RN, Brasil, robertafisiojp@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Heloísa Maria Jácome de Souza
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Britto
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisioterapia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Caicó, RN, Brasil, robertafisiojp@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Jackson Cláudio Costa
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisioterapia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Caicó, RN, Brasil, robertafisiojp@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Túlio Oliveira
authors.initials: TO
authors.lastname: de Souza
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012307:Risk Factors; D012923:Social Class