Citation

Karlsson MK, Ribom E, Nilsson JA, Ljunggren O, Ohlsson C, Mellström D, Lorentzon M, Mallmin H, Stefanick ML, Lapidus J, Leung PC, Kwok A, Barrett-Connor E, Orwoll E, Rosengren BE. Age Ageing 2012; 41(6): 740-746.

Affiliation

Department of Clinical Science and Orthopaedics, Skane University Hospital, Lund University, SE-205 20 Malmo, Sweden.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/ageing/afs104

PMID

22923607

Abstract

BACKGROUND: recurrent fallers are at especially high risk for injuries. OBJECTIVE: to study whether tests of physical performance are associated with recurrent falls. SUBJECTS: a total of 10,998 men aged 65 years or above. METHODS: questionnaires evaluated falls sustained 12 months preceding testing of grip strength, timed stand, 6-m walk and 20-cm narrow walk test. Means with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) are reported. P < 0.01 is a statistically significant difference. RESULTS: in comparison to both occasional fallers and non-fallers, recurrent fallers performed more poorly on all the physical ability tests (all P < 0.001). A score below -2 standard deviations (SDs) in the right-hand grip strength test was associated with an odds ratio of 2.4 (95% CI 1.7, 3.4) for having had recurrent falls compared with having had no fall and of 2.0 (95% CI 1.3, 3.4) for having had recurrent falls compared with having had an occasional fall. CONCLUSION: low performance in physical ability tests are in elderly men associated with recurrent falls.

Language: en