Services on Demand
Journal
Article
Indicators
Cited by SciELO
Access statistics
Related links
Cited by Google
Similars in SciELO
Similars in Google
Share
Revista de Salud Pública
Print version ISSN 0124-0064
Abstract
REYES-ORTIZ, Carlos A. et al. Medical falls among older adults in Latin American cities. Rev. salud pública [online]. 2020, vol.22, n.5, pp.527-532. Epub May 12, 2021. ISSN 0124-0064. https://doi.org/10.15446/rsap.v22n5.84883.
Objective
To estimate the prevalence and risk factors for falls requiring medical attention, referred as medical falls, in community-dwelling persons aged >60 years. Methods A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using information from the Health, Well-Being, and Aging ("SABE") Study in Latin America and the Caribbean (7 cities), as well as from the SABE Bogota study (pooled sample of 8 cities n=12,487). Falls that occurred during a past 12-month period were considered and then noted if required medical treatment because of the fall.
Results
The weighted prevalence of medical falls across the eight surveys ranged from 6.0% to 11.3%. In weighted multivariate logistic regression analyses, potentially modifiable risk factors for medical falls include urinary incontinence (OR=1.51 95% CI 1.18-1.92), high depressive symptomatology (OR=1.53 95% CI 1.24-1.91), poor self-rated health (OR=1.35 95% CI 1.10-1.66) and activities of daily living limitations (OR=1.48 95% CI 1.16-1.87).
Conclusions
Based on our results, preventive measures targeting these risk factors may help to decrease the risk for medical falls among older adults in Latin America.
Keywords : Accidental falls; aged; epidemiology; health services (source: MeSH, NLM).