RISK-FACTORS FOR FALLS IN THE CHINESE ELDERLY POPULATION

Background. Besides being the major cause of hip fracture, falls also have important consequences in injuries and mortality, especially in t he elderly population. This study investigated the occurrence of and t he correlates of falls in a cohort of Hong Kong Chinese elderly aged 7 0 years and above. Methods. The research was based on the baseline cro ss-sectional study of an age- and sex-stratified cohort consisting of 1,947 ambulatory subjects. The occurrence of falls was based on the pr evious 12 months. Logistic regression analysis was used to test the ef fect of each independent variable, adjusting for age and sex. Multivar iate logistic regression analysis based on the backward elimination pr ocedure was used for the final model. Results. Previous white-collar e mployment, poor self-perceived health, dizziness, slow gait velocity, difficulties in activities of daily living, non-practice of ''morning walk,'' body mass index in the range of 20-24, use of local skin prepa ration, and presence of cerebrovascular disease were independently ass ociated with falls. Smokers were found to have an independent decrease d risk of falls. Neither age nor sex was significantly associated with falls after adjusting for the other explanatory variables. Conclusion s. The results from this population-based cross-sectional study form a basis for further prospective study on falls in the Chinese elderly p opulation. Both intrinsic and extrinsic factors including circumstance s and consequences of falls are important considerations in the strate gy for the prevention of falls.