Faculty of Health Science, Department of Physical Therapy, Juntendo University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Department of Preventive Gerontology, Center for Gerontology and Social Science, Research Institute, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Obu, Aichi, Japan.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2024 Sep 1;79(9). doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbae127.
This study aimed to investigate the association between falls and social frailty and its components among older Japanese adults.
This is a cross-sectional study. Participants were categorized into 3 groups based on the number of falls in the past year: no fall (none), a single fall (occasional), and more than one fall (recurrent). The participants who met 2 or more of the following criteria were defined as socially frail: living alone, going out less frequently compared with the previous year, rarely visiting friends, feeling unhelpful to friends or family, and not talking with someone daily.
A total of 4,495 older Japanese adults living in a community analyzed in this study (51.0% women). Of the participants in this study, 3,851 (85.7%) were categorized as none, 443 (9.9%) as occasional, and 201 (4.5%) as recurrent. The proportion of participants considered socially frail was 11.5% in this study. Recurrent falls were associated with social frailty, even after adjusting for covariates (odds ratio [OR]: 1.49; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01-2.19). The experience of recurrent falls was associated with the following components: "feeling unhelpful to friends and family" (OR: 1.62; 95% CI: 1.14-2.31) and "going outside less frequently compared with last year" (OR: 1.57; 95% CI: 1.06-2.31).
Among older Japanese adults, recurrent falls were associated with social frailty and with 2 of its components in particular: social roles and social participation. Future longitudinal studies should be conducted to gain insight into any causal relationships between these variables.
本研究旨在探讨日本老年人中跌倒与社会脆弱及其各组成部分之间的关联。
本研究为横断面研究。根据过去 1 年中跌倒的次数，将参与者分为 3 组：无跌倒（无）、单次跌倒（偶发）和多次跌倒（复发性）。符合以下 2 项或以上标准的参与者被定义为社会脆弱：独居、与前一年相比外出频率减少、很少拜访朋友、觉得对朋友或家人没有帮助、以及没有每天与他人交谈。
本研究共分析了 4495 名居住在社区中的日本老年人（51.0%为女性）。在本研究中，3851 名参与者（85.7%）归为无，443 名（9.9%）为偶发，201 名（4.5%）为复发性。在本研究中，认为社会脆弱的参与者比例为 11.5%。即使在调整了混杂因素后，复发性跌倒仍与社会脆弱相关（优势比 [OR]：1.49；95%置信区间 [CI]：1.01-2.19）。复发性跌倒的经历与以下两个组成部分相关：“觉得对朋友和家人没有帮助”（OR：1.62；95% CI：1.14-2.31）和“与去年相比外出频率减少”（OR：1.57；95% CI：1.06-2.31）。
在日本老年人中，复发性跌倒与社会脆弱及其两个特定组成部分有关：社会角色和社会参与。未来应开展纵向研究，以深入了解这些变量之间的因果关系。
