Characteristics of falls among older hip fracture patients from six Chinese hospitals: a post-hoc descriptive analysis

There is well-established evidence to understand the characteristics of falls among the older patients with hip fracture in many countries, but very little knowledge existed in China. This study described the characteristics of falls in older patients with hip fractures from six Chinese hospitals.

This cross-sectional study is a post-hoc descriptive analysis of a recently completed trial. Eligible patients were aged 65 years and older, with confirmed hip fractures due to falls, and were admitted to the hospital within 21 days of the fracture. All patients were consecutively enrolled and screened within one year (November 15, 2018, to November 14, 2019). The collected data included patient demographics and fall-related information.

A total of 1,892 patients' fall-related information were described. Most patients with hip fractures caused by falls were in the oldest old age group (60.4% in age group ≥ 80), with an overall average age of 80.7 (7.6) years. There were more females (n = 1,325, 70.0%) than males (n = 567, 30.0%). The majority lived in urban (n = 1,409, 74.5%). Most falls (n = 1,237, 67.3%) occurred during the daytime (6:01-18:00). There were 1,451 patients had their falls occurring at home (76.7%). Lost balance (n = 1,031, 54.5%) was reported as the primary reason to cause falls. The most common activity during a fall was walking (n = 1,079, 57.0%).

Although the incidence of fall-related hip fractures in China is unclear, preventing falls and fall-related hip fractures in older people remains an urgent health concern as the ageing society increases. Studies with larger sample size and diverse population are needed to robustly understand this growing epidemic.