Loading...
Association between multimorbidity and rate of falls : A 3-year 5-country prospective study in generally healthy and active community-dwelling adults aged ≥70 years
Huberty, Sarah Freystätter, Gregor Wieczorek, Maud Dawson-Hughes, Bess Kanis, John A. Rizzoli, René Kressig, Reto W. Vellas, Bruno Da Silva, José A. P. Armbrecht, Gabriele
Huberty, Sarah
Freystätter, Gregor
Wieczorek, Maud
Dawson-Hughes, Bess
Kanis, John A.
Rizzoli, René
Kressig, Reto W.
Vellas, Bruno
Da Silva, José A. P.
Armbrecht, Gabriele
Abstract
Objective
To examine the association between the baseline number of chronic diseases and multimorbidity with regard to the incidence of all and injurious falls over 3 years among European community-dwelling older adults.
Design
Observational analysis of DO-HEALTH, a double-blind, randomized controlled trial.
Setting and participants
Multicenter trial with 7 European centers: Zurich, Basel, Geneva (Switzerland), Berlin (Germany), Innsbruck (Austria), Toulouse (France), and Coimbra (Portugal), including 2157 community-dwelling adults aged 70 years and older without any major health events in the 5 years prior to enrollment, sufficient mobility, and good cognitive status.
Methods
The main outcomes were the number of all falls and injurious falls experienced over 3 years. The number of chronic diseases and multimorbidity, defined as the presence of 3 or more chronic diseases at baseline, were assessed with the Self-Administered Comorbidity Questionnaire by Sangha et al.
Results
Among the 2155 participants included in the analyses (mean age: 74.9 years, 62% were women, 52% were physically active more than 3 times a week), 569 (26.4%) had multimorbidity at baseline. Overall, each 1-unit increase in the baseline number of chronic diseases was linearly associated with a 7% increased incidence rate of all falls [adjusted incidence rate ratio (aIRR) 1.07, 95% CI 1.03-1.12, P < .001] and a 6% increased incidence rate of injurious falls (aIRR 1.06, 95% CI 1.02-1.11, P = .003). Baseline multimorbidity was associated with a 21% increased incidence rate of all falls (aIRR 1.21, 95% CI 1.07-1.37, P = .002) and a 17% increased incidence rate of injurious falls (aIRR 1.17, 95% CI 1.03-1.32, P = .02).
Conclusions and Implications
Baseline number of prevalent chronic diseases and multimorbidity in generally healthy and active community-dwelling older adults were associated with increased incidence rates of all and injurious falls over 3 years. These findings support that multimorbidity may need consideration as a risk factor for falls, even in generally healthy and active older adults.
Keywords
falls, injurious falls, multimorbidity, chronic diseases, older adults, DO-HEALTH
Date
2023
Type
Journal article
Journal
Journal of the American Medical Directors Association (JAMDA)
Book
Volume
24
Issue
6
Page Range
804-810
Article Number
ACU Department
Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Collections
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
All rights reserved
File Access
Controlled
Notes
© 2022 AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.