Prevalence of Falls and Risk Assessment for Falls Among Elderly in A Rural Area of Karnataka.

ABSTRACT

Background: Falls are extremely common among elderly population, accounting for substantial morbidity and mortality, and are often potentially preventable. Approximately 28-35% of people aged 65 yrs & above fall every year, increasing to 32-42% for those over 70 yrs (WHO). This study was designed for identification of risk factors among elderly, so that the future falls can be prevented. Objective: 1.To assess the prevalence of falls in elderly aged ≥60 yrs residing in a rural area in Bangalore 2.To assess the risk for falls and 3.To study the factors associated with the falls risk among these elderly. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in a village in Bangalore Urban District, Bangalore of Karnataka, among people aged ≥60 yrs during the period of July to August 2011. Demographic details, history of fall in the last one year were col-lected and falls risk was assessed. Data was analysed using SPSS16. Results: A total of 124 people aged ≥60 yrs participated in the study, 51(41%) were males and 73(59%) females. Prevalence of falls 39(31.45%) people had history of at least one fall in the last one year averaging 1.25 falls per person per year. 32(82%) of them had one fall and 7(17.95%) experienced recurrent falls. Slip was the most common cause (51.3%) of the last fall. Risk for falls 78(63%) elderly were having low risk, 12(9.6%) were in medium risk and 34(27.4%) were having high risk for falls. Risk was highest in 70–79 yrs age group and in females (P=0.003). On multivariate logistic regression analysis, people with hearing impairment (OR=10.09, CI=1.24-81.94), psychological im-pairment (OR=3.0, CI=1.19-7.55) and with history of falls in the last one year (OR=5.17, CI=1.98-13.49) had higher risk for falls and hypertensives (OR=0.25, CI=0.09-0.64) had lower risk. Conclusion: The study showed that there is a high prevalence of falls in elderly and more than 1/4th of the study population was at high risk. Psychological impairment, hearing impairment and history of previous falls significantly increased the risk of falling. Therefore, it is necessary to identify and address these problems and educate them on falls preven-tion.