CIRCUMSTANCES OF FALLS RESULTING IN HIP-FRACTURES AMONG OLDER-PEOPLE

Citation
R. Norton et al., CIRCUMSTANCES OF FALLS RESULTING IN HIP-FRACTURES AMONG OLDER-PEOPLE, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 45(9), 1997, pp. 1108-1112
Citations number
17
Categorie Soggetti
Geiatric & Gerontology","Geiatric & Gerontology
ISSN journal
00028614
Volume
45
Issue
9
Year of publication
1997
Pages
1108 - 1112
Database
ISI
SICI code
0002-8614(1997)45:9<1108:COFRIH>2.0.ZU;2-2
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To describe the circumstances of falls resulting in hip fr actures among older people and to determine whether the circumstances differ by gender, age, and residential status. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Two hospitals in Auckland, New Zealand, in which all individuals aged 60 years or older with a fracture of the proximal fem ur are hospitalized. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 911 individuals (97% res ponse rate) were hospitalized with fractures of the proximal femur; 77 % were women, 66% were aged 80 years or older, and 58% were living in private homes at the time of fracture. MEASUREMENTS: Data were collect ed face-to-face by a trained interviewer using a standardized question naire. RESULTS: Ninety-six percent of the fractures were associated wi th a fall, with fewer that 2% of subjects reporting that their fractur es occurred spontaneously before a fall. Sixteen percent of fractures were associated with an acute medical or physical condition. Although 85% of the fractures involving a fall occurred at home, only about 25% of these were associated with an environmental hazard, and only a pro portion of these were likely to have been amenable to modification. Th e circumstances of falls differed significantly by age and residential status. CONCLUSION: Strategies aimed at preventing fall-related hip f ractures among the old old and among institutionalized individuals sho uld focus primarily on the modification of intrinsic factors. Modifica tion of environmental hazards has the greatest potential for preventio n among the young old and those living in private homes.