Risk Factors for Falls among Elderly People: a Population-based Case-Control Study

Abstract

Introduction: Falling is one of the most common problems of the elderly people with a multi factorial nature and frequent cases. This study aimed to determine the risk factors of falls in old people covered by Mashhad University of Medical Sciences.

Methods: This retrospective case-control study was conducted on 15,600 elderly participants. Data were extracted from Sina Electronic Health Record System (SinaEHR^®, Iran). The obtained data were analyzed using STATA through odds ratio formula.

Results: Risk factors of falls in the elderly subjects included age, fear of falling, higher body mass index, diabetes, anemia, gastrointestinal problems, hypothyroidism, use of sedatives, and smoking, after adjusting the potentially confounding effects of other variables.

Conclusion: The current study provides evidence that patient-related factor such as diabetes, anemia, hypothyroidism and smoking are associated with falls in the elderly. The results of the present research can be used by health policy-makers to reduce fall-related costs of the old people by focusing on care services and high-risk individuals.