title: Biopsychosocial Predictors of Fall Events Among Older African Americans.
abstract: This study identifies risk and protective factors for falls among older, community-dwelling African Americans. Drawing upon the biopsychosocial perspective, we conducted a series of sex- and age-adjusted multinomial logistic regression analyses to identify the correlates of fall events among older African Americans. Our sample consisted of 1,442 community-dwelling African Americans aged 65 and older, participating in the 2010-2012 rounds of the Health and Retirement Study. Biophysical characteristics associated with greater relative risk of experiencing single and/or multiple falls included greater functional limitations, poorer self-rated health, poorer self-rated vision, chronic illnesses (high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, lung disease, heart problems, stroke, and arthritis), greater chronic illness comorbidity, older age, and female sex. Physical activity was negatively associated with recurrent falls. Among the examined psychosocial characteristics, greater depressive symptoms were associated with greater relative risk of experiencing single and multiple fall events. Implications for clinicians and future studies are discussed.
authors.affiliation: 1 School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Emily Joy
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Nicklett
authors.affiliation: 1 School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Robert Joseph
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: 2 National Institute on Aging Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Ola
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Rostant
authors.affiliation: 1 School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Kimson E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Linnea
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Evans
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: African American; biopsychosocial; fall risk; falls; risk and protective factors