History of Falls, Dementia, Lower Education Levels, Mobility Limitations, and Aging Are Risk Factors for Falls among the Community-Dwelling Elderly: A Cohort Study

• Main Authors: Yan-Yuh Lee, Chien-Liang Chen, I-Chen Lee, I-Ching Lee, Nai-Ching Chen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-09-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: previous falling event; reduced cognition; Alzheimer dementia; elderly; fall
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/17/9356

Background: Falling is a serious issue among elderly community dwellers, often resulting in disability. We aimed to investigate the risk factors for falls among elderly community dwellers. Methods: We recruited 232 participants from multiple community learning and care centers, who provided their information through questionnaires. They were divided into two groups, according to their falling events after a 1-year follow-up. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used for statistical analysis. Results: A total of 64 participants reported a fall at the 1-year follow-up. The falling group comprised older and single people with lower education levels, higher rates of dementia, a history of falls, lower scores on the Mini-Mental State Examination, and more disability functions when compared to the non-falling group (all <i>p</i> < 0.05). The regression model showed that a history of falls (OR: 62.011; <i>p</i> < 0.0001), lower education levels (OR: 4.088; <i>p</i> = 0.039), mild dementia (OR: 20.729; <i>p</i> = 0.028), older age (OR: 1.176; <i>p</i> < 0.0001), walking for 300 m (OR: 4.153; <i>p</i> = 0.030), and running for 30 m (OR: 3.402; <i>p</i> = 0.015) were 1-year risk factors for falls. Conclusion: A history of falling, low education levels, aging, mild dementia, and certain mobility limitations were strong risk factors for future falling accidents in elderly Taiwanese community dwellers.