Sleep efficiency affecting the occurrence of falls among the frail older adults

The purpose of this study is to clarify whether reduced sleep efficiency affects the occurrence of falls among the frail older adults. This was a prospective cohort study. The subjects were frail older adult individuals living within a community, attending an older adult care center. Variables assessed include sleep efficiency, walking ability, history of cerebrovascular disease, depressive symptoms, cognitive impairment, chronic pain, frequency of sleeping medication use, and frequency of nocturnal urination. A fall calendar was used to record daily falls over a 6-month period beginning after administering a baseline survey. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyze the association between sleep efficiency and the occurrence of falls. Logistic regression analysis showed a significant association between falls and sleep efficiency. In conclusion, after adjusting for multiple confounders, reduced sleep efficiency did affect the occurrence of falls. Accordingly, approaches for improving sleep efficiency could offer new strategies toward fall prevention.