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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Risk factors for major injurious falls among the home-dwelling elderly by functional abilities
— a prospective population-based study | | Author(s) | Keijo Koski, Heikki Luukinen, Pekka Laippala |
| Journal title | Gerontology, vol 44, no 4, July-August 1998 |
| Pages | pp 232-238 |
| Keywords | Falls ; Mobility ; Over 70s ; Longitudinal surveys ; Finland. |
| Annotation | Falling is one of the major factors leading to disabilities in older people. This study aimed to describe the physical, social and psychosocial factors related to major injurious falls in older people in five rural northern municipalities in Finland. The risk factors were analysed separately in a disabled group and an independent group of community-dwelling people aged 70 years and over, initially 979 persons, over a 2-year period. Findings revealed that 30% of the subjects having fallen sustained a major injury. The following variables were found to be related to a high risk for major injurious falls in the disabled group: divorced, widowed or unmarried marital status; low body mass index; incomplete step continuity; poor distant visual acuity; and the use of long-acting benzodiazepines. In the independent group, the risk of a fall resulting in major injury was high among the subjects who had peripheral neuropathy or were suffering from insomnia. The study concluded that preventive measures should be targeted according to the disabilities of the population. (AKM). |
| Accession Number | CPA-980701411 A |
| Classmark | OLF: C4: BBK: 3J: 76L |
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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