AUTHOR=Lin Wei-Quan , Lin Lin , Sun Si-Yu , Yuan Le-Xin , Sun Min-Ying , Wang Chang , Chen Jia-Min , Li Yao-Hui , Zhou Qin , Wu Di , Huang Ting-Yuan , Liang Bo-Heng , Liu Hui 

TITLE=Prevalence of falls, injury from falls and associations with chronic diseases among community-dwelling older adults in Guangzhou, China: a cross-sectional study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1251858

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2023.1251858

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Introduction: As a developing country with the largest elderly population in the world, strengthening the research on falls among the elderly is undoubtedly an urgent item in China. This study aimed to explore the prevalence and risk factors associated with falls and injury from falls among community-dwelling elderly people in Guangzhou, China, particularly focusing on their associations with chronic diseases.Methods: A total of 1629 participants aged 65 and over were selected from 11 counties in Guangzhou by multi-stage stratified random sampling method in 2021. Socio-demographic characteristics, health and lifestyle factors, the status of falls, and injury from falls were measured by structured questionnaires through face-to-face interviews. Chi-square tests and logistic regression analysis were used to identify factors associated with falls and injury from falls. Chord Diagrams were used to explore their associations with chronic diseases.Results: A total of 251 (15.41%, 95%CI: 13.98%-17.25%) participants reported falls, and 162 (9.46%, 95%CI:7.72%-11.55%) participants indicated an injury from falls.Logistic regression analysis showed that female (adjusted OR=1.721, 95%CI:1.681-1.761), aged ≥80 years (1.910, 1.847-1.975), unemployed (1.226, 1.171-1.284), uninsured (1.555, 1.448-1.671), average monthly household income of 2001-4000 CNY (1.878, 1.827-1.930), number of services provided by the community health center ≥13 times per year (1.428, 1.383-1.475), illness within two weeks (1.633,   1.595-1.672), high-intensity physical activity (2.254, 2.191-2.32), sedentary (1.094, 1.070-1.117), and number of chronic disease illnesses ≥3 (1.930, 1.870-1.993).Meanwhile, those risk factors were also associated with injury from falls. The elderly with medium intensity physical activity were at lower risk (0.721, 0.705-0.737) of falls, while were at higher risk (1.086, 1.057-1.117) to be injured from falls. Chord Diagrams showed the correlations between chronic diseases and falls and injury from falls among community-dwelling elderly people in Guangzhou, China.The high prevalence of falls is found among community-dwelling elderly people in Guangzhou, China, which is related to multiple factors such as demographic variables, lifestyle, and health status, especially for chronic diseases.Therefore, targeted interventions should be developed and implemented urgently.