Odebiyi D O, Oderinde M O, Olaogun M O B
Department of Physiotherapy, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Nigeria.
West Afr J Med. 2008 Oct;27(4):245-9.
Falls represent a major threat to health status and independence in the elderly, causing pain and cessation of physical activities, whether due to fear of falling, declining mobility or balance.
To evaluate falls, vis-à-vis balance, gait and fear of falling, in the elderly living in Community-Based Rehabilitation Homes.
Two Community-Based Rehabilitation Homes were randomly picked and 85 apparently healthy elderly (Males 44, Females 41), aged between 65 and 90 years, volunteered to participate in this study. The level of gait and balance of the participants was assessed using Tinetti Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment (TPOMA) scale while the fear of falling was assessed using the Activities Specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale. The occurrence of falls in the elderly was also recorded. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistic of chi-square to see the effect of gender.
There was a significant difference between the physical characteristics of the male and female participants. Falls and fears of falls were prevalent. The frequency of falls increased with age. Chi-square test showed that the frequency of falls was significantly (p<0.05) higher in the females than males.
Falls are significant causative factors of pain and avoidable disability. Their prevention in the elderly should be a major concern in our environment.
跌倒对老年人的健康状况和独立性构成重大威胁，无论是由于害怕跌倒、行动能力下降还是平衡能力下降，都会导致疼痛和身体活动的停止。
评估居住在社区康复之家的老年人的跌倒情况，以及与之相关的平衡能力、步态和跌倒恐惧。
随机选取两家社区康复之家，85名年龄在65至90岁之间、看似健康的老年人（男性44名，女性41名）自愿参与本研究。使用Tinetti定向运动功能评估（TPOMA）量表评估参与者的步态和平衡水平，使用特定活动平衡信心（ABC）量表评估跌倒恐惧。记录老年人跌倒的发生情况。使用描述性统计和卡方推断统计分析数据，以观察性别的影响。
男性和女性参与者的身体特征存在显著差异。跌倒和跌倒恐惧很普遍。跌倒频率随年龄增加而增加。卡方检验表明，女性跌倒频率显著高于男性（p<0.05）。
跌倒是疼痛和可避免残疾的重要致病因素。在我们的环境中，预防老年人跌倒应成为主要关注点。
