Family Medicine Academy, Qassim Health Cluster, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia.
Sultan Qaboos Univ Med J. 2021 Feb;21(1):e86-e93. doi: 10.18295/squmj.2021.21.01.012. Epub 2021 Mar 15.
Falls and fall-related consequences are a major public health problem in the elderly. This study aimed to measure the prevalence of falls and fall-related risk factors among elderly individuals in Saudi Arabia.
This cross-sectional study was conducted between January and October 2019 among 280 elderly patients aged >60 years old attending 10 randomly selected primary healthcare centres in Unaizah City, Qassim Province, Saudi Arabia. Data were collected using the validated 10-item Missouri Alliance for Home Care (MAHC-10) fall risk assessment tool.
A total of 269 participants were included in the study (response rate: 96.1%). The prevalence of falls over the preceding year was 31.6%. Females fell more frequently than males (34.5% versus 28.5%) and most falls occurred indoors (84.7%). Various risk factors were associated with fall risk including being aged >80 years (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 5.17, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.66-16.14), polypharmacy (aOR: 2.40, 95% CI: 1.01-5.71) and environmental factors (aOR: 2.79, 95% CI: 1.24-6.28). However, more educated participants had a lower risk of falling (aOR: 0.26, 95% CI: 0.09-0.77). There was also a significant association with the MAHC-10 fall risk score ( = 0.043).
There was a high prevalence of falls among the elderly in Unaizah City. Various factors were associated with falls including advanced age, polypharmacy, age-related changes and environmental factors. As the majority of fall events occurred indoors, home safety improvements are recommended. Moreover, additional larger-scale research is necessary regarding fall-related risk factors and fall prevention initiatives among elderly individuals in Saudi Arabia.
跌倒及其相关后果是老年人面临的主要公共卫生问题。本研究旨在衡量沙特阿拉伯老年人跌倒及其相关危险因素的流行率。
这是一项于 2019 年 1 月至 10 月期间在沙特阿拉伯盖西姆省乌奈扎市的 10 家随机选择的初级保健中心进行的横断面研究，共纳入 280 名年龄>60 岁的老年患者。使用经过验证的 10 项密苏里州家庭护理联盟（MAHC-10）跌倒风险评估工具收集数据。
共有 269 名参与者（应答率：96.1%）被纳入研究。过去一年的跌倒发生率为 31.6%。女性跌倒频率高于男性（34.5%比 28.5%），且大多数跌倒发生在室内（84.7%）。各种危险因素与跌倒风险相关，包括年龄>80 岁（调整后的优势比[aOR]：5.17，95%置信区间[CI]：1.66-16.14）、多药治疗（aOR：2.40，95% CI：1.01-5.71）和环境因素（aOR：2.79，95% CI：1.24-6.28）。然而，受过更多教育的参与者跌倒风险较低（aOR：0.26，95% CI：0.09-0.77）。MAHC-10 跌倒风险评分也存在显著相关性（ = 0.043）。
乌奈扎市老年人跌倒发生率较高。多种因素与跌倒相关，包括高龄、多药治疗、与年龄相关的变化和环境因素。由于大多数跌倒事件发生在室内，建议改善家庭安全。此外，还需要针对沙特阿拉伯老年人的跌倒相关危险因素和预防措施进行更多的大规模研究。
