Citation

Karvonen-Gutierrez CA, Ylitalo KR, Peng MQ. Arch. Gerontol. Geriatr. 2020; 91: e104206.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.archger.2020.104206

PMID

32763757

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Falls are a public health concern for older adults but are also common among midlife adults. However, the consequences of falls occurring during midlife are not well understood.

METHODS: This investigation assessed the relationship between falls and mortality among midlife adults using survey data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (n = 1,295), linked to the National Death Index. The relationship between recurrent falls (≥2 falls) in the past year and 10-year death rate was assessed using survey-weighted Cox regression.

RESULTS: Nearly 20 % of adults who died within 10 years of their interview date were recurrent fallers at the time of interview. For women only, recurrent fallers had more than 4-fold increased hazard of death within 10 years compared to non-recurrent fallers (HR = 4.41; 95 % CI:2.24,8.68).

CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that midlife women are particularly vulnerable to adverse outcomes following recurrent falls. Fall prevention efforts should include efforts targeted at midlife women.

Language: en

Keywords

Midlife; Recurrent falls; Sex differences