[Functional dependency and falls in elderly living in poverty in Mexico]

To determine the prevalence of functional dependency (FD) on Mexican elderly living in extreme poverty conditions and to estimate the association between falls and FD.

A survey was conducted with three stages for selection, stratified by type of locality (rural or urban) and nationally representative of the 2006 Oportunidades Program. The target population was composed of individuals 70 years of age and older who were beneficiaries of the Oportunidades Program.

A total of 30.9% of the elderly presented FD. The gender stratified logistic regression model resulted in an odds ratio (OR) for women of 1.25 (I.C:1.13-1.39) for the association between the increase in the number of falls and FD and OR=1.12 (I.C:0.97-1.29) for men.

Given the vulnerable conditions in which these older adults live, specific interventions need to be implemented to prevent falls in order to reduce the risk of functional dependency.