title: Biology of Falls: Preliminary Cohort Study Suggesting a Possible Role for Oxidative Stress.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Biological underpinnings of falls in older adults are not well established.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine the validity of selected oxidative stress and inflammatory biomarkers for predicting incident falls in community-dwelling older adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  266 non-demented and ambulatory community-dwelling older adults (mean age 78 years, 55% women).
  
  
  METHODS
  Oxidative stress (malondialdehyde) and inflammatory (interleukin-6 [IL-6]) biomarkers were selected based on associations with fall risk factors, and values were log-transformed to account for non-normal distributions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over a mean follow-up of 20.5 ± 10.1 months, 119 participants fell. In Cox proportional hazards models, each one standard deviation increase in baseline log-malondialdehyde levels predicted incident falls (Hazard ratio (HR) adjusted for age, gender, education, comorbidity count, medications, log-IL-6 levels, prior falls, depressive symptoms, cognitive status, gait velocity, and balance 1.53, 95% CI 1.11-2.16). Log-IL-6 levels were not associated with falls. Participants in the highest log-malondialdehyde quartile at baseline had increased risk for incident falls than those in the lowest quartile (HR 2.47, 95% CI 1.41-4.34).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Oxidative stress predicted falls in a community-based cohort, and should be further examined as a fall risk biomarker as well as a potential target to prevent falls.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.|Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.
authors.forename: Joe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Verghese
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.
authors.forename: Emmeline
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ayers
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D007249:Inflammation; D015850:Interleukin-6; D008297:Male; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6
keywords: aging; falls; inflammation; oxidative stress