Risk factors of falls among elderly living in Urban Suez - Egypt

INTRODUCTION: Falling is one of the most common geriatric syndromes threatening the independence of older persons. Falls result from a complex and interactive mix of biological or medical, behavioral and environmental factors, many of which are preventable. Studying these diverse risk factors would aid early detection and management of them at the primary care level. METHODS: This is a cross sectional study about risk factors of falls was conducted to 340 elders in Urban Suez. Those are all patients over 60 who attended two family practice centers in Urban Suez. RESULTS: When asked about falling during the past 12 months, 205 elders recalled at least one incident of falling. Of them, 36% had their falls outdoors and 24% mentioned that stairs was the most prevalent site for indoor falls. Falls were also reported more among dependant than independent elderly. Using univariate regression analysis, almost all tested risk factors were significantly associated with falls in the studied population. These risk factors include: living alone, having chronic diseases, using medications, having a physical deficit, being in active, and having a high nutritional risk. However, the multivariate regression analysis proved that the strongest risk factors are low level of physical activity with OR 0.6 and P value 0.03, using a cane or walker (OR 1.69 and P value 0.001) and Impairment of daily living activities (OR 1.7 and P value 0.001). CONCLUSION: Although falls is a serious problem among elderly with many consequences, it has many preventable risk factors. Health care providers should advice people to remain active and more research is needed in such an important area of Family Practice.