Alasmari Rami S, Hassani Hattan A, Almalky Nawwaf A, Bokhari Abdullah F, Al Zahrani Abdullah, Hafez Alwalied A
King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, College of Medicine.
King Abdullah International Medical Research Center.
Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2023 Mar 9;85(3):412-417. doi: 10.1097/MS9.0000000000000269. eCollection 2023 Mar.
Diabetes mellitus type 2 is a major chronic condition that is considered common among elderly people, with multiple potential complications that could contribute to falls. However, this concept is not well understood; thus, the aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of falls among diabetes patients.
In this observational cross-sectional study, 309 diabetic patients aged 60 years or more who visited the primary healthcare centers of the Ministry of National Guard - Health Affairs in Jeddah were chosen via convenience sampling method. To collect the data, a structured Fall Risk Assessment questionnaire and Fall Efficacy Score scale were used.
The mean age of the participants was estimated to be 68.5 (SD: 7.4) years. Among the participants, 48.2% have fallen before, and 63.1% of them suffered falls in the past 12 months. The results showed that gait problems were independently associated with a higher likelihood of falls among elderly patients [odds ratio (OR)=1.98; 95% CI: 1.08-3.62; =0.026]. Based on the linear regression analysis, we identified the following risk factors for lower falls efficacy: having gait problems (=12.50; 95% CI: 7.38-17.6; <0.001), balance difficulties (=6.58; 95% CI: 1.35-11.8; =0.014), and neurological/cognitive impairments (=9.62; 95% CI: 3.89-15.4; =0.001), as well as having poor sleep quality (=8.11, 95% CI: 3.32-12.9; <0.001).
This paper suggests that diabetes mellitus is an independent fall risk factor among the elderly. Therefore, identifying such patients as being at higher risk and prompt referral to a specialist falls clinic is recommended.
2型糖尿病是一种主要的慢性疾病，在老年人中较为常见，存在多种可能导致跌倒的并发症。然而，这一概念并未得到充分理解；因此，本研究的目的是估计糖尿病患者中跌倒的患病率。
在这项观察性横断面研究中，通过便利抽样法选取了309名年龄在60岁及以上、前往吉达国民卫队卫生事务部初级医疗中心就诊的糖尿病患者。为收集数据，使用了结构化的跌倒风险评估问卷和跌倒效能评分量表。
参与者的平均年龄估计为68.5（标准差：7.4）岁。在参与者中，48.2%曾跌倒过，其中63.1%在过去12个月内发生过跌倒。结果表明，步态问题与老年患者跌倒的可能性较高独立相关[比值比（OR）=1.98；95%置信区间：1.08 - 3.62；P = 0.026]。基于线性回归分析，我们确定了以下导致跌倒效能较低的风险因素：存在步态问题（β = 12.50；95%置信区间：7.38 - 17.6；P < 0.001）、平衡困难（β = 6.58；95%置信区间：1.35 - 11.8；P = 0.014）、神经/认知障碍（β = 9.62；95%置信区间：3.89 - 15.4；P = 0.001），以及睡眠质量差（β = 8.11，95%置信区间：3.32 - 12.9；P < 0.001）。
本文表明糖尿病是老年人中独立的跌倒风险因素。因此，建议将此类患者识别为高风险患者，并及时转诊至专科跌倒诊所。
