Falls risk among a very old home-dwelling population

Figures & data

Table I.  Characteristics of the population studied (n = 555) according to presence of falls (yes/no) during the 11 months of follow-up.

Characteristic	Yes (n = 273)	No (n = 282)	p^1
Demographics
Baseline age, years, mean±SD	88±3	88±2	0.15
Female, n (%)	218 (80)	211 (74)	0.16
Home-nursing care, n (%)	93 (34)	68 (24)	0.01
Less than grade school education, n (%)	29 (11)	28 (10)	0.77
Living alone, n (%)	195 (72)	195 (71)	0.63
Recurrent falls in previous year, n (%)	88 (33)	39 (15)	<.01
Lifestyle
Sedentary physical activity in previous year, n (%)	81 (30)	63 (23)	0.06
Self-rated health and mental functioning
Rather or very poor self-rated health, n (%)	49 (18)	40 (14)	0.22
Somewhat or clearly worsening mental agility past year, n (%)	101 (38)	77 (28)	0.01
Symptoms^2
Anxiety, nervousness, or fear, n (%)	62 (23)	43 (15)	0.02
Sleeping problem, n (%)	42 (16)	40 (14)	0.70
Difficulty in urination, n (%)	30 (11)	15 (5)	0.01
Breathlessness, n (%)	29 (11)	28 (10)	0.77
Trouble with vision when moving, n (%)	63 (24)	46 (17)	0.05
Clinical tests
Short Geriatric Depression Scale score (0–15) ≥ 7, n (%)	71 (26)	41 (15)	<.01
Mini Mental State Examination test score (0–30), mean±SD	23±4	24±4	0.43
Sum score of lower extremity performance score (0–12)^3, mean±SD	7.0±3.1	6.1±3.4	<.01
Medication
Use of psychotropic drug^4, n (%)	118 (43)	95 (34)	0.02
Number of used drugs, mean±SD	6.4±3.8	5.3±3.2	<.01

Notes: ¹p is from chi-square (categorized) or t-test (continuous) statistics; ²feelings of anxiety, nervousness, or fear, sleeping problem, difficulty in urination or breathlessness disturbing life a little or a lot during the previous two weeks; ³lower extremity performance score (0–12) formed from balance (0–4), walking speed (0–4), and chair stand (0–4) scores [22]; ⁴ ATC group N05 and N06.

Table II.  Univariate and multivariate incidence rate ratios (IRR, 95% CI) of falls; negative binomial models

Risk factor; unit for IRR change	IRR (95% CI) Univariate (n = 555)	IRR (95% CI) Multivariate^1 (n = 526)
Baseline age; one year	1.03 (0.99–1.08)
Female; yes/no	1.04 (0.80–1.29)
≥ 2 falls past year; yes/no	2.15 (1.68–2.76)	1.91 (1.49–2.44)
Sedentary physical activity past year; yes/no	1.51 (1.17–1.95)
Rather or very poor self-rated health; yes/no	1.55 (1.15–2.09)
Somewhat or clearly worsening mental agility past year; yes/no	1.53 (1.20–1.96)
Anxiety, nervousness, or fear^2; yes/no	1.73 (1.31–2.28)	1.56 (1.19–2.03)
Sleeping problem^2; yes/no	1.18 (0.86–1.63)
Urination problem^2; yes/no	1.79 (1.22–2.64)
Breathlessness^2; yes/no	1.20 (0.94–1.54)
Trouble with vision when moving; yes/no	1.69 (1.28–2.22)	1.46 (1.13–1.90)
Body mass index; < 18.5/18.5 < 25/25 < 30/≥ 30 kg/m^2	1.44 (1.02–2.02)
Short Geriatric Depression scale ≥ 7; yes/no	1.59 (1.21–2.08)
Mini Mental State Examination test < 20; yes/no	1.25 (0.90–1.76)
Sum score of lower extremity function^3; one point	0.93 (0.90–0.97)
Number of used drugs; one drug	1.06 (1.03–1.10)
Use of antipsychotic^4 drug; yes/no	2.15 (1.36–3.40)	1.66 (1.07–2.58)
Use of anxiolytic^5; yes/no	0.92 (0.63–1.37)
Use of hypnotic^6; yes/no	1.40 (1.10–1.79)
Use of antidepressant^7; yes/no	1.82 (1.32–2.50)
Use of diuretic^8; yes/no	1.16 (0.92–1.47)
Use of digitalis^9; yes/no	1.11 (0.82–1.49)
Use of beta blocker^10; yes/no	1.23 (0.97–1.56)
Use of calcium channel blocker^11; yes/no	0.92 (0.64–1.33)
Use of drug affecting rennin-angiotensin system^12; yes/no	0.97 (0.72–1.31)

Notes: ¹Adjusted for all the significant variables in univariate analyses (≥ 2 falls past year; rather or very poor self-rated health; somewhat or clearly worsening mental agility past year; anxiety, nervousness, or fear; urination problem last two weeks; trouble with vision when moving; body mass index; Short Geriatric Depression scale ≥ 7; number of drugs used; use of an antipsychotic drug; use of a hypnotic drug; use of an antidepressant drug); stepwise backward elimination of the non-significant variables; ²feelings of anxiety, nervousness, or fear, sleeping problem, difficulty in urination or breathlessness disturbing life a little or a lot during the previous two weeks; ³lower extremity performance score (0–12) formed from balance (0–4), walking speed (0–4), and chair stand (0–4) scores [22]; ATC group ⁴N05A, ⁵N05B, ⁶N05C, ⁷N06A, ⁸C03, ⁹C01A, ¹⁰C07, ¹¹C08, ¹²C09.