Factors that Increase Risk of Falling in Older Men according to Four Different Clinical Methods

ABSTRACT

Background: Falling is an important health problem for older men. In this study, we aim to identify factors that increase risk of falling in only older men using four different fall risk assessment methods.

Method: 334 men, who attended a geriatric outpatient clinic and underwent comprehensive geriatric assessment, were included in the study. History of falling last year, the Timed Up and Go test, Performance-Oriented Mobility Assessment, and 4-meter walking speed test were carried out on all patients.

Results: The mean age (SD) of patients were 74.99 (7.26) years. According to all of the four clinical assessments to predict risk of falling the following risk factors for falling were identified (all p < .05): cerebrovascular disease, urinary incontinence, dizziness and imbalance, high Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) scores, low Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and The Lawton-Brody Instrumental Daily Living Activity Scale (IADL) and Barthel index (BI) for daily living activities scores, Significant correlations were found between all the assessment methods (p < .001).

Conclusion: There is a strong relationship between fall risk and cerebrovascular disease, urinary incontinence, dizziness and imbalance, high GDS scores, low MMSE, BADL and IADL scores in older men. Therefore, older men should be screened for these risk factors to prevent falls.