TY - JOUR
PY - 2019//
TI - Likelihood of sustaining an injury in the setting of multiple falls
JO - Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
A1 - Gill, Thomas M.
A1 - Williams, Christianna S.
SP - 119
EP - 123
VL - 67
IS - 1
N2 - OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the relationship between number of falls and risk of injury after a specific fall.
DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Greater New Haven, Connecticut. PARTICIPANTS: Probability sample of 1,103 community-living persons aged 72 and older. MEASUREMENTS: Falls and fall-related injuries were ascertained monthly for 3 years using a fall calendar and follow-up telephone interviews.
RESULTS: Of 606 participants with a fall, 164 (27.0%) had at least 1 fall with a serious injury, and 455 (75.1%) had at least 1 fall with any injury; mean number of falls was 2.6±2.3 (range 1-18), of falls with serious injury was 0.3±0.6 (range 0-4), and of falls with any injury was 1.4±1.4 (range 0-9). On a per-participant basis, risk of serious injury and any injury increased progressively as the number of falls increased (P <.001). On a per-fall basis, risk of serious injury and any injury increased from 1 to 2 falls but then decreased from 2 to 3 or 4 falls and from 3 or 4 to 5 or more falls, although these differences were not statistically significant. The results were consistent for women and men and for analyses that evaluated the proportion of falls with injuries.
CONCLUSION: In community-living older persons, risk of injury from a specific fall did not differ as the number of falls increased. Falls appear to operate independently in terms of conferring risk of injury in the setting of multiple falls.
© 2018, Copyright the Author Journal compilation © 2018, The American Geriatrics Society.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 0002-8614 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jgs.15639 ID - ref1 ER -