Lage Isabel, Braga Fátima, Almendra Manuela, Meneses Filipe, Teixeira Laetitia, Araujo Odete
School of Nursing, University of Minho, Portugal.
School of Nursing, University of Minho, Portugal; School of Engineering, University of Minho, Portugal; Centro de Computação Gráfica, Guimarães, Portugal.
Enferm Clin (Engl Ed). 2022 Nov-Dec;32(6):396-404. doi: 10.1016/j.enfcle.2022.04.003. Epub 2022 May 6.
To identify the prevalence and the risk factors of falling in older people (65+) living alone.
This is a descriptive and transversal study which included 186 participants, aged 65+ living alone in community-dwelling.
The prevalence of falls was 80.1% (95% CI 74.1-85.8). Considering the last 3 months, the prevalence of falls reduced to 22.2% (95% CI 17.5-29.9) and the number of falls reported was 2.4 (sd = 2.1). Most falls were accidental (n = 74, 59.7%), followed by dizziness (n = 15, 12.1%) and almost 50% occurred in the morning (n = 53, 45.3%). Considering the local where the falls occurred, 70 (57.4%) were at home (36.1% inside and 21.3% outside), 41 on the street (33.6%) and only 11 (9.0%) in a public place (4.1% inside and 4.9% outside). After the fall, 30.9% of the participants changed daily life after an event.
Falls among older adults is a multifactorial problem that requires integrated and multiprofessional interventions. Older age, living alone in an urban area, with insufficient resources, reduced physical activity and a poor self-perception are factors associated with a higher risk of falling. Similarly, older people who have difficulty standing, sitting and rising from a chair, as well as being hypertensive and taking a high number of medications are associated with a high risk of falling. Future research should develop and emphasize more national studies to confirm these results.
确定独居老年人（65岁及以上）跌倒的患病率及危险因素。
这是一项描述性横断面研究，纳入了186名65岁及以上独居的社区居民参与者。
跌倒患病率为80.1%（95%置信区间74.1 - 85.8）。考虑过去3个月，跌倒患病率降至22.2%（95%置信区间17.5 - 29.9），报告的跌倒次数为2.4次（标准差=2.1）。大多数跌倒为意外跌倒（n = 74，59.7%），其次是头晕（n = 15，12.1%），近50%的跌倒发生在早晨（n = 53，45.3%）。考虑跌倒发生的地点，70例（57.4%）在家中（室内36.1%，室外21.3%），41例在街道上（33.6%），仅11例（9.0%）在公共场所（室内4.1%，室外4.9%）。跌倒后，30.9%的参与者在事件发生后改变了日常生活。
老年人跌倒为多因素问题，需要综合多专业干预。高龄、独居城市地区、资源不足、身体活动减少和自我认知差是与跌倒风险较高相关的因素。同样，站立、坐立和从椅子上起身困难以及患有高血压和服用多种药物的老年人跌倒风险较高。未来研究应开展并更加强调全国性研究以证实这些结果。
