Citation

Formiga F, López-Soto A, Duaso E, Ruiz D, Chivite D, Pérez-Castejón JM, Navarro M, Pujol R. Aging Clin. Exp. Res. 2008; 20(5): 434-438.

Affiliation

Geriatric Unit, Internal Medicine Service, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, 08907 L Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. fformiga@csub.scs.es.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

19039285

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Falls are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in older people who have cognitive impairment. The present study compared the characteristics of community-dwelling patients, with and without previous diagnosis of dementia, hospitalized because of a hip fracture. METHODS: 1024 consecutive patients>65 years (77.2% women, mean age 82.9 yrs) admitted for fall-related hip fracture to six Spanish hospitals during a 20-month period were included. Sociodemographic data, geriatric assessment and characteristics (location, time and possible cause: intrinsic, extrinsic or combined risk factor) of falls leading to hip fracture were evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 154 (15%) patients had a previous diagnosis of dementia. Analysis showed a greater number of previous falls before admission for hip fracture in demented patients. Moreover, in non-demented patients, we found both a predominance of falls during the day and of extrinsic factors. CONCLUSION: Some differences were observed, according to the cognitive status of elderly patients suffering a hip fracture due to a fall. A high percentage of dementia patients had suffered repeated falls prior to the fall-related hip fracture.

Language: en