Prevalence and factors associated with recurrent falls among middle-aged community-dwelling women

This community-based study evaluated the prevalence and associated risk factors of recurrent falls among middle-aged community-dwelling women in Southern-Sri Lanka.

Randomly selected 285 middle-aged women (40-60years, Mean±SD;51.7±6.1years) participated. History of falls within the previous 12-months was inquired and those who reported two or more falls within 6-month period were considered as recurrent fallers. Age, menopausal status, weight (kg), height (m), waist-circumference (WC, cm), appendicular-skeletal-muscle-mass (ASMM, kg by DXA), hand-grip-strength (HGS, kg) and gait-speed (GS, m/s) were evaluated. Body-mass-index (BMI, kg/m2) and relative-ASMM-index (RSMI, kg/m²) were calculated.

The prevalence of recurrent falls was 13% (95%CI; 9.4%-17.5%) (n=37). Recurrent falls were higher among postmenopausal women compared to premenopausal women, older middle-aged women (51-60years) compared to young middle-aged women (40-50years), those with low RSMI compared to normal RSMI, low HGS compared to normal HGS and low GS compared to normal GS (p<0.01). BMI and WC did not show significant associations with recurrent falls. Risk factors associated with recurrent falls were age (OR;7.41, 95%CI; 1.23-44.43, p=0.02), RSMI (OR;3.21, 95%CI; 1.00-10.32, p=0.04) and HGS (OR;3.19, 95%CI; 1.26-8.09, p=0.01).

The prevalence of falls among middle-aged women was considerably high. Falls were associated with advanced age, low muscle mass and muscle strength.