Community Medicine Research Center, and Institute of Public Health, National Yang Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Aging Clin Exp Res. 2010 Feb;22(1):70-7. doi: 10.1007/BF03324818. Epub 2009 Nov 17.
Falls causing injuries among older people and the consequences of those injuries are of increasing concern to public health practitioners. The aims of this study were to determine the incidence, characteristics and risk factors of fall injuries among the community-dwelling elderly in Shihpai, Taiwan; the impact on quality of life and health service utilization was also comprehensively studied.
1361 community-dwelling elderly who had been enrolled in the Shihpai eye study (1999-2000) were included. Subjects were interviewed and examined by trained interviewers, and data such as demographics, medical conditions, blood pressure, ophthalmic examination, fall history and quality of life (SF-36) were collected. Chi-square tests, analyses of covariance and multiple logistic regressions were performed as the main statistical methods.
The mean age of the participants was 72.2 (range, 65-91) years old. 16.3% of the elderly persons interviewed had experienced at least one fall; among those, up to 50% had suffered mild injuries, and the incidence of remarkable injury was 27.6%. There were no significant differences in the location or time of falling, but there were different risk factors and consequences in injury severity. Fallers with remarkable injuries had a higher incidence of hospitalization and a greater fear of falling. No statistically significant decline in quality of life with increasing severity of falling injury was identified after a 12-month follow-up period.
Gender, visual impairment and orthostatic hypotension were identified as the major risk factors of fall injuries in the elderly. These factors should be emphasized in order to reduce fall injuries in geriatrics.
老年人跌倒致伤及其后果日益受到公共卫生从业者的关注。本研究旨在确定台湾石牌地区社区老年人跌倒致伤的发生率、特征和危险因素；并全面研究其对生活质量和卫生服务利用的影响。
共纳入 1361 名参加石牌眼部研究（1999-2000 年）的社区居住老年人。由经过培训的调查员对其进行访谈和检查，收集人口统计学、医疗状况、血压、眼科检查、跌倒史和生活质量（SF-36）等数据。主要统计方法包括卡方检验、协方差分析和多因素逻辑回归分析。
参与者的平均年龄为 72.2（65-91）岁。16.3%的被访老年人至少经历过一次跌倒；其中，50%有轻度损伤，显著损伤的发生率为 27.6%。跌倒的地点和时间没有显著差异，但损伤严重程度的风险因素和后果不同。有显著损伤的跌倒者住院率更高，且更害怕跌倒。在 12 个月的随访期间，未发现生活质量随跌倒损伤严重程度的增加而出现统计学意义上的下降。
性别、视力障碍和直立性低血压是老年人跌倒损伤的主要危险因素。应重视这些因素，以减少老年人跌倒损伤。
