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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Is a fall just a fall: correlates of falling in healthy older persons
— the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study | | Author(s) | Nathalie de Rekeneire, Marjolein Visser, Rita Peila |
| Journal title | Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, vol 51, no 6, June 2003 |
| Pages | pp 841-846 |
| Keywords | Falls ; Good Health ; Mobility ; Correlation ; Longitudinal surveys ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | 3,075 high functioning black and white older Americans aged 70 to 79 living in the community and enrolled to the Health ABC Study in 1997-98 were assessed for physical function using self-report and performance measures. Almost a quarter (24.1%) of women and 18.3% of men reported at least one fall within the year before the baseline examination. Fallers were more likely to be female and white; report more chronic diseases and medications; have poorer balance and leg strength; slower 400 metre walk time; and lower muscle mass. In men, multivariate regression models showed white race, slower 6 metre walk speed, poor standing balance, inability to do 5 chair stands, report of urinary incontinence, and mid-quintile of leg muscle strength to be independently associated with report of falling. In women, benzodiazepine use and reported difficulty in rising from a chair were associated with past falls. Falls history needs to be screened in healthy older people, as specific correlates of falling can be identified to define those at risk. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-030716207 A |
| Classmark | OLF: CD: C4: 49: 3J: 7T |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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