Elísio Costa, Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal, Email:
J Frailty Aging. 2021;10(1):10-16. doi: 10.14283/jfa.2020.44.
As a person ages, the risk of falls increases, which affects quality of life and represents a financial burden to health- and social-systems, and a greater morbidity and mortality risk. Falls lead to decreased social contact, anxiety, long-term physical disability, severe dependency and hospitalizations. Currently, few studies address this phenomenon using a uniform methodology; therefore, this study aims to explore the prevalence of falls and associated-variables in older adults across Europe.
In this cross-sectional analysis, we used data from Wave 6 of SHARE. The prevalence of falls was assessed through the answer "falling down" to the question "For the past six months at least, have you been bothered by any of the health conditions on this card?". Multilevel logistic regression was used, using falls as a dependent variable. Multilevel univariable logistic regression models were made to identify potential associated factors.
From the 41,098 participants, 56.3% were female, and the average age was of 70.0 ± 8.9 years. The prevalence of falls was 8.2% (CI 8.0% to 8.4%), being higher in women (10.1% vs. 5.8%) and increasing with age. Age, female gender, being frail or pre-frail, higher scores on the EURO-D scale, polypharmacy and fear of falling were found to be significantly associated with falls.
We found that falls are prevalent in the European community-dwelling population, with variations between countries. As a public health priority, identification of the variables associated with falls is important in order to identify/monitor the risk in older groups and develop tailored and cost-effective interventions for falls prevention.
随着年龄的增长，跌倒的风险增加，这会影响生活质量，并给医疗和社会系统带来经济负担，还会增加发病率和死亡率。跌倒会导致社交减少、焦虑、长期身体残疾、严重依赖和住院治疗。目前，很少有研究使用统一的方法来研究这一现象；因此，本研究旨在探讨欧洲老年人跌倒的发生率及相关变量。
在这项横断面分析中，我们使用了 SHARE 第六波的数据。通过回答“在过去的六个月里，你是否因为卡片上的任何健康状况而感到不适？”来评估跌倒的发生率。使用多水平逻辑回归，将跌倒作为因变量。使用多水平单变量逻辑回归模型来确定潜在的相关因素。
在 41098 名参与者中，56.3%为女性，平均年龄为 70.0±8.9 岁。跌倒的发生率为 8.2%（CI 8.0%至 8.4%），女性（10.1%比 5.8%）和年龄较大的人群中发生率更高。年龄、女性、虚弱或衰弱前期、EURO-D 评分较高、多种药物治疗和对跌倒的恐惧与跌倒显著相关。
我们发现，跌倒在欧洲社区居住人群中很普遍，且各国之间存在差异。作为公共卫生的重点，确定与跌倒相关的变量对于识别/监测老年人的风险以及制定针对跌倒预防的个性化和具有成本效益的干预措施非常重要。
