Frequency and factors associated with falls in adults aged 55 years or more

• Autor(a) principal: Prato,Sabrina Canhada Ferrari
• Data de Publicação: 2017
• Outros Autores: Andrade,Selma Maffei de, Cabrera,Marcos Aparecido Sarria, Dip,Renata Maciulis, Santos,Hellen Geremias dos, Dellaroza,Mara Solange Gomes, Mesas,Arthur Eumann
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Revista de Saúde Pública
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-89102017000100228
• topic: Middle Aged; Aged; Accidental Falls; Risk Factors; Health Surveys

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to analyze the frequency and factors associated with falls in adults aged 55 years or more. METHODS This is a study inserted into another population-based study with representative sample of persons aged 40 years or more of the urban area in a medium-sized municipality of the State of Paraná, Brazil, in 2011. That study obtained demographic and socioeconomic data and characteristics related to life habits, health conditions, and functional capacity (n = 1,180). In 2012, we selected all persons aged 55 years or more (n = 501). We have estimated grip strength and the occurrence of a fall since the last interview in 80.6% of the adults. The crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR) have been calculated by logistic regression according to a hierarchical model. RESULTS The rate of fall was 24.3%. After adjustments, we could observe higher chances of falls among women (OR = 3.10; 95%CI 1.79–5.38), among persons aged 65 years or more (OR = 2.39; 95%CI 1.45–3.95), with poor sleep quality (OR = 1.78; 95%CI 1.08–2.93), and with low grip strength (OR = 2.31; 95%CI 1.34–3.97). CONCLUSIONS Poor sleep quality and low muscle strength can be indicators of increased risk of falls and need assessments and interventions aimed at preventing them.