scholarly journals Risk Factors for Falls among Elderly People: a Population-based Case-Control Study

Author(s):  
Vida Vakili ◽  
Ali Taghipour ◽  
Ehsan Mosa Farkhani ◽  
Hamid Reza Bahrami ◽  
Behnaz Beygi ◽  
...  

Introduction: Falling is one of the most common problems of the elderly people with a multi factorial nature and frequent cases. This study aimed to determine the risk factors of falls in old people covered by Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This retrospective case-control study was conducted on 15,600 elderly participants. Data were extracted from Sina Electronic Health Record System (SinaEHR®, Iran). The obtained data were analyzed using STATA through odds ratio formula. Results: Risk factors of falls in the elderly subjects included age, fear of falling, higher body mass index, diabetes, anemia, gastrointestinal problems, hypothyroidism, use of sedatives, and smoking, after adjusting the potentially confounding effects of other variables. Conclusion: The current study provides evidence that patient-related factor such as diabetes, anemia, hypothyroidism and smoking are associated with falls in the elderly. The results of the present research can be used by health policy-makers to reduce fall-related costs of the old people by focusing on care services and high-risk individuals.

Author(s):  
Made Krisna Adi Jaya ◽  
Dewa Ayu Swastini ◽  
Baiq Leny Nopitasari ◽  
Putu Rika Veryanti

Background: Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (DPN) is a microvascular complication that commonly occurs in people with diabetes mellitus. Geriatrics with type 2 diabetes mellitus is one of the populations most vulnerable to this complication. An epidemiological study states that geriatrics has a 32% greater risk of developing this complication compared to other age groups. There have not been many studies conducted to evaluate the risk factors that influence this DPN complication, so it needs to be done an individual evaluation for the elderly population. Objective: This study aims to explore the risk factors that influence the incidence of DPN in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: A case-control study design was carried out on 70 geriatrics with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The outcome determined was the incidence of DPN to track the cause of DPN exposure retrospectively. Influential risk factors are determined by the Odds Ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). All statistical analyzes were two-tailed, and p-values <0.05 were considered as statistically significant. Results: Seven factors influence the incidence of DPN in the elderly consisting of smoking history (OR=13.1), uncontrolled lipid profile (OR=5.1), non-neuroprotector users (OR=5.6), uncontrolled blood glucose (OR=42.7), history of heart disease (OR=9.0), uncontrolled blood pressure (OR=4.3), and BMI above normal (OR=5.1). Conclusion: Strong recommendation for medical personnel to focus attention on seven significant risk factors affected complications of DPN to reduce its progression or prevent upcoming complications.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Ziaul Islam ◽  
Tasnim Disu ◽  
Shatmin Farjana ◽  
Mohammad Rahman

Abstract Background: Malnutrition and depression are highly prevalent in the elderly and can lead to disparaging outcomes. Analytical studies on malnutrition concerning geriatric depression (GD) are very scarce in Bangladesh, although the size of the elderly population is increasing fast in the country. The current study aimed to assess the association between malnutrition and depression and associated risk factors in the rural elderly.Methods: A case-control study was conducted in 600 elderly residents (aged ≥60 years) of three rural communities of Bangladesh from January to October 2019. Three hundred depressed elderly people were enrolled as cases and 300 non-depressed elderly individuals were included as community controls by matching the age and living area of the cases. We used a semi-structured questionnaire based on the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 and the Bangla version of Mini-Nutritional Assessment-Short Form to collect data through face-to-face interviews. Measures included baseline and personal characteristics, malnutrition, GD, and associated risk factors. A binary logistic regression model was fitted to identify variables associated with the risk of GD.Results: The study found no significant difference in gender (male Vs. female) between cases (44.0% Vs. 56.0%) and controls (46.0% Vs. 54.0%). The study revealed that malnutrition was significantly (p<0.01) higher in cases (56.0%) than in controls (18.0%). The malnourished elderly had around three times AOR=3.155; 95% CI: 1.53-6.49, p=0.002) more (risk of having depression than the controls. The unemployed elderly (AOR=4.964; 95% CI: 2.361-10.440; p=0.0001) and the elderly of the lower and middle class (AOR=3.654; 95% CI: 2.266-7.767; p=0.001) were more likely to experience depression. The elderly having a poor diet were more likely to experience depression (AOR=3.384; 95% CI: 1.764-6.703; p=0.0001). The single elderly (AOR=2.368; 95% CI: 1.762-6.524; p=0.001) and the elderly tobacco users (AOR=2.332; 95% CI: 1.663-5.623; p=0.003) were more likely to experience depression.Conclusions: A significant association between malnutrition and depression is evident in the rural elderly individuals of Bangladesh. It will be a prolific initiative if policymakers merge malnutrition and the risk factors associated with geriatric depression in the provision of universal health care for better health and well-being of the rural elderly populations.


Author(s):  
Zahra Taheri-Kharameh ◽  
Jalal Poorolajal ◽  
Saeed Bashirian ◽  
Rashid Heydari Moghadam ◽  
Mahmoud Parham ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 1759-1764 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Karasu ◽  
M. J. Engbers ◽  
M. Cushman ◽  
F. R. Rosendaal ◽  
A. van Hylckama Vlieg

Author(s):  
Katherine Glazebrook ◽  
Kenneth Rockwood ◽  
Paul Stolee ◽  
John Fisk ◽  
J. M. Gray

ABSTRACTFew studies of the risks of institutionalization of the elderly have had fully specified models using multivariate analysis, and several studies have examined highly selected populations, making their generalizability uncertain. We set out to examine the risks of institutionalization in elderly people in Nova Scotia. A case-control study, executed as part of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging examined 108 incident institutional cases and 533 community-dwelling elderly controls, using a standardized assessment interview conducted by trained interviewers. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that advancing age, presence of dementia, functional impairment, poor self-rated health, recent hospital admission, and absence of a caregiver were important risks for entry into long term care. Institutions providing long-term care for the elderly need to be able to look after populations with a high prevalence of dementia and functional impairment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 300-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhila Najafpour ◽  
Zahra Godarzi ◽  
Mohammad Arab ◽  
Mehdi Yaseri

Background: Patient falls are considered a challenge to the patient’s safety in hospitals, which, in addition to increasing the length of stay and costs, may also result in severe injuries or even the death of the patient. This study aims to investigate the associations between risk factors among fallers in comparison with the control group. Methods: A prospective nested case control study was performed on 185 patients who fell and 1141 controls were matched with the patients at risk of fall in the same ward and during the same time. This study was conducted in a university educational hospital in Tehran with 800 beds during a 9-month period. The data included demographics, comorbidities, admission details, types of medication, clinical conditions, and activities before or during the fall. The data was collected from clinical records, hospital information system, error reporting system and observations, and the interviews with the fallers, their families and care givers (physicians, nurses, etc). Data analysis was conducted through time-based matching using a multi-level analysis. Results: In a multilevel model including patient-related, medication, and care-related variables, the factors that were significantly associated with an increased risk of patient falls included: longer length of stay (odds ratio [OR] = 1.01; CI=0.32 to 0.73), using chemotherapy drugs, sedatives, anticonvulsants, benzodiazepines, and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, visual acuity (OR=6.93; CI=4.22 to 11.38), balance condition (OR= 6.41; CI=4.51 to 9.11), manual transfer aid (OR=8.47; CI=5.65 to 12.69), urinary incontinence (OR= 8.47, CI= 5.65 to 12.69), and cancer (OR=2.86, CI=1.84-4.44). These factors were found to be associating with more odds for a falling accident among patients. Several characteristics such as fall history (OR=0.48; CI= 1.003 to 1.02), poly-pharmacy (OR=1.37, CI=00.85 to 2.2), stroke (OR=0.94, CI= 0.44 to 2.02), and nurse to patient ratio (incidence rate ratio=1.01, CI=0.01 to 0.03) were not significantly associated with falling in hospitals. Conclusion: It seems that a combination of both patient-related factors and history of medication should be considered. Moreover, modifiable clinical characteristics of patients such as vision improvement, provision of manual transfer aid, diabetes control, regular toilet program, and drug modification should be considered during the formulation of interventions.


2005 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Pueschel ◽  
A. Heinemann ◽  
T. Krause ◽  
S. Anders ◽  
W. von Renteln-Kruse

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