FALL-RELATED ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING AND BEHAVIOUR DISTURBANCES IN DEMENTIA

The purpose of this study is to clarify the activities of daily living and behaviour disturbances related to inpatients and outpatients with dementia experiencing falls. Patients diagnosed with dementia belonging to 18 facilities which consented to the study were subjected. The study involved "whether or not the patient has fallen in the past 12 months", "Barthel Index (B.I)", and "Dementia Behaviour Disturbance Scale (DBD)" and other data from 325 people in 18 facilities who had been diagnosed with dementia. The ratio of subjects who had fallen to those who had not was 113:212. The results of multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the study items related to falls including the DBD item of "making unwarranted accusations" had an OR = 1.445, 95% CI (1.133-1.843), the DBD item of "refusing to eat" had an OR = 0.699, 95% CI (0.521- 0.938), the B.I item of "feeding" had OR = 1.115, 95% CI (1.032-1.204) and the B.I item of "bathing" had OR = 0.782, 95% CI (0.671-0.912). Integral characteristics of dementia patients who have fallen are assumed to be making unwarranted accusations, having a low rate of refusing to eat, being able to eat alone and requiring attention when bathing.