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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Epidemiology of falls in elderly semi-independent residents in residential care | | Author(s) | Alex A Fisher, Michael W Davis, Allan J McLean |
| Journal title | Australasian Journal on Ageing, vol 24.2, June 2005 |
| Publisher | Blackwell Publishing, June 2005 |
| Pages | pp 98-102 |
| Source | http://www.cota.org.au / http://www.blackwellpublishingasia.com |
| Keywords | Falls ; Fractures ; Residents [care homes] ; Social surveys ; Australia. |
| Annotation | In Australia, falls by hostel residents aged 65+ are common. Living in an institution is associated with an increased risk of fractures. The authors studied cross-sectional prevalence and event association of falls for 179 residents aged 65+ (80% women) independent in activities of daily living (ADLs) living in eight hostels in Canberra. 49% of subjects had fallen in the previous year, and 29% of these had sustained a fracture; 53% of fallers had recurrent falls. The study identified some new potential risk factors for falls. In multivariate analysis, four factors were associated independently with falling within a year: using a walking device; history of cancer; taking selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs); and cigarette smoking. For recurrent falls, cerebrovascular disease and using nitrates were also independent risk factors. In univariate analysis, reversible inhibitors of monoamine oxidase and potassium-sparing diuretics were negatively associated with falls. There were no differences between fallers and non-fallers in blood pressure in supine and standing positions, although one-third of residents had orthostatic hypertension. These risk factors could be used to identify those at high risk of falling, who can then be targeted for monitoring, specific treatment and prevention strategies. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-050905202 A |
| Classmark | OLF: CUF: KX: 3F: 7YA |
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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