Graduate Institute of Life Sciences, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
School of Public Health, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
BMJ Open. 2019 Sep 3;9(8):e030650. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-030650.
Falls are one of the most important causes of injuries and accidental deaths among this segment of over the age of 65 years.The long-term follow-up study of fall-related injuries was conducted in elderly veterans over the age of 65 years, and the risk of falls in veterans and non-veterans was compared.
This study used the National Health Insurance Research Database for the period from 2000 to 2013 in Taiwan. This longitudinal study tracked falls in veterans over the age of 65 years, designated a control group (non-veterans), using 1:2 pairing on the basis of sex and time receiving medical care, and used Cox regression to analyse and compare the risk of falls among veterans and non-veterans.
This study subjects consisted of 35 454 of the veterans had suffered falls (9.5%), as had 55 037 of the non-veterans (7.4%). After controlling for factors such as comorbidities/complications, the veterans had 1.252 times the risk of falls of the non-veterans. Furthermore, among persons in the 75-84 years old age group, veterans had 1.313 times the risk of falls of non-veterans, and among persons with mental illnesses and diseases of the eyes, veterans had 1.300 and 1.362 times the risk of falls of non-veterans. In addition, each veteran had an average of 4.07 falls during the 2000-2013 period, which was significantly higher than in the case of non-veterans (3.88 falls).
Veterans' risk of falls and recurrent falls were both higher than those of non-veterans, and age level, comorbidities/complications and level of low urbanisation were all important factors affecting veterans' falls. The responsible authorities should, therefore, use appropriate protective measures to reduce the risk of falls and medical expenses in high-risk groups.
在 65 岁以上人群中，跌倒导致伤害和意外死亡是最重要的原因之一。本研究对 65 岁以上老年退伍军人的跌倒相关损伤进行了长期随访研究，并比较了退伍军人和非退伍军人的跌倒风险。
本研究使用了 2000 年至 2013 年台湾的全民健康保险研究数据库。本纵向研究跟踪了 65 岁以上退伍军人的跌倒情况，指定对照组（非退伍军人），根据性别和接受医疗照顾的时间进行 1：2 配对，并使用 Cox 回归分析和比较退伍军人和非退伍军人的跌倒风险。
本研究共纳入 35454 名退伍军人（9.5%）和 55037 名非退伍军人（7.4%）发生过跌倒。在控制了合并症/并发症等因素后，退伍军人的跌倒风险是非退伍军人的 1.252 倍。此外，在 75-84 岁年龄组中，退伍军人的跌倒风险是非退伍军人的 1.313 倍，在患有精神疾病和眼部疾病的人群中，退伍军人的跌倒风险是非退伍军人的 1.300 倍和 1.362 倍。此外，每位退伍军人在 2000-2013 年期间平均发生 4.07 次跌倒，明显高于非退伍军人（3.88 次跌倒）。
退伍军人的跌倒风险和复发性跌倒风险均高于非退伍军人，年龄水平、合并症/并发症和低度城市化水平都是影响退伍军人跌倒的重要因素。因此，责任当局应采取适当的保护措施，以降低高风险人群的跌倒风险和医疗费用。
