@article{ref1,
title="Risk of fall among older adults and its association with cognitive impairment in a semi-urban community",
journal="Indian journal of community medicine",
year="2020",
author="Monachan, Dayana and Vargese, Saritha Susan and Johny, Vinny and Mathew, Elsheba",
volume="45",
number="4",
pages="463-466",
abstract="CONTEXT: Fall in older people is a major public health concern. Two-third of the death due to fall are preventable. Risk assessment in older adults therefore is the first step to identify the high-risk group to plan need-based intervention. AIMS: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of risk of fall among older adults and its association with cognitive impairment and sociodemographic characteristics. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the field practice areas of the department of community medicine in a teaching hospital in South Kerala, India. <br><br>SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. Berg Balance Scale and Mini-Cog Test were used for measuring risk of fall and cognitive impairment. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used for the statistical analysis using SPSS. <br><br>RESULTS: Among the older adults, 45% were at risk of fall, 42.4% in males and 57.6% in females. The risk of fall was found to be significantly associated with cognitive impairment, (odds ratio = 3.89, confidence interval at 95% = 2.06-7.31, P < 0.001). Advanced age, female gender, and unemployed status were significantly associated with the risk of fall. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: The risk of fall prevalence was high and significantly related to cognitive impairment, advanced age, female gender, and occupational status, with more than half of those currently not working having a higher risk. The study would recommend regular follow-up of risk groups for prevention a good percentage of fall and thereby the related injuries.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0970-0218",
doi="10.4103/ijcm.IJCM_491_19",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/ijcm.IJCM_491_19"
}