Burden and Correlates of Falls among Rural Elders of South India: Mobility and Independent Living in Elders Study

Aim. Falls are an important contributor to loss of function, morbidity, and mortality in elders. Little is known about falls in Indian populations. The objective of this cross-sectional report was to identify the prevalence and correlates of falls in a cohort of 562 rural southern Indian men and wom...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current gerontology and geriatrics research 2017, Vol.2017 (2017), p.1-8
Main Authors: Cauley, Jane A., Reddy, P. Sudhakar, Ganguly, Enakshi, Singh, Tushar, Bunker, Clareann H., Sharma, Pawan Kumar, Newman, Anne B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activities of daily living
Age
Aged
Body mass index
Demographic aspects
Disability
Epidemiology
Falls (Accidents)
Gender differences
Mens health
Mental depression
Older people
Physiological aspects
Population
Psychological aspects
Public health
Risk factors
Studies
Walking
Women
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Summary:Aim. Falls are an important contributor to loss of function, morbidity, and mortality in elders. Little is known about falls in Indian populations. The objective of this cross-sectional report was to identify the prevalence and correlates of falls in a cohort of 562 rural southern Indian men and women. Methods. Risk factors included demographics, anthropometrics, self-reported health, medical history, physical function, vision, depression, and lifestyle. Odds ratios were calculated using logistic regression. Results. 71 (13%) subjects reported at least 1 fall in the past year. Prevalence was higher among women (17%) than men (8%), P=0.003. Sex and age showed significant interaction (P=0.04) whereby falls prevalence increased with age among women but decreased among men. Correlates of falls among men included a history of osteoarthritis (OA) (odds ratio (OR): 6.91; 95% CI: 1.4–33.1), depression (OR:9.6; 3.1–30.1), and greater height (OR per 1 standard deviation increase: 2.33; 1.1–5.1). Among women, poor physical performance (OR: 3.33; 1.13–9.86) and history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) (OR: 2.42; 1.01–5.80) were independently associated with falls. Implications. Prevalence of falls in elderly South Indians was lower than published reports from western countries and likely reflects low exposure to fall risks. Patterns with age differed in men and women and may reflect sex differences in the accuracy of age recall. Presence of comorbidities specifically OA, CVD, and depression was independent correlate of falling.
ISSN:1687-7063
1687-7071
DOI:10.1155/2017/1290936