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  • Incidence and risk factors for falls among community-dwelling elderly subjects on a 1-year follow-up: a prospective cohort study from Ernakulam, Kerala, India

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Geriatric medicine
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Incidence and risk factors for falls among community-dwelling elderly subjects on a 1-year follow-up: a prospective cohort study from Ernakulam, Kerala, India
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  • Published on: 15 December 2020
    Falls among elderly subjects: a risk assessment

    Sasidharan et al. conducted a prospective study to examine the risk factors for falls among community-dwelling elderly subjects in India (1). The incidence rate of falls was 31 per 100 person-years. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) (95% confidence intervals [CIs]) of female sex, movement disorders, arthritis, dependence in basic activities of daily living, not using antihypertensive medications, living alone during daytime, and a history of falls in the previous year for a fall in the following year were 1.48 (1.05 to 2.10), 2.26 (1.00 to 5.05), 1.48 (1.05 to 2.09), 3.49 (2.00 to 6.09), 1.53 (1.10 to 2.13), 3.27 (1.59 to 6.71), and 2.25 (1.60 to 3.15), respectively. I have some concerns about their study.

    First, Tripathy et al. reported epidemiological findings of falls among older adults in India (2). The prevalence rate of fall episodes was 67 per 100 person-years. Adjusted OR (95% CI) of female sex, taking four or more medicines, and having poor body balance were 1.6 (1.0 to 2.8), 2.1 (1.2 to 3.5), 1.9 (1.0 to 3.4), respectively. Female sex was also a risk factor for fall in this study, and sex difference for predicting fall in the elderly should be specified by further studies.

    Second, Susilowati et al. assessed the prevalence and related factors for falls in the past year in a sample of community-dwelling and institutionalized older Indonesians (3). The prevalence of falls in the past year was 29%, and women and institutionalized older adults had higher preval...

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    Conflict of Interest:
    None declared.