Study of the Biological Risk Factors for Fall in the Elderly Patients

Abstract

Objective: To assess the biological risk factors for fall in the elderly patients (≥ 60 years) presenting to the geriatric-medical OPD in a tertiary care hospital. Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was done at tertiary care center among elderly patients of both sex visiting Geriatric Medicine OPD from November 2015 to March 2017 after informed consent of the study participants. Patient with acute confusion state or patients requiring emergency management were not included. A sample size of 100 patients was included. After taking informed consent, Geriatric assessment was performed in the elderly with the help of internationally validated tools and biological risk factors for fall were then identified. Result: Prevalence of falls was found to be 17%. The statistically significant risk factors identified in this study include postural hypotension (p=0.017), abnormality in gait and balance (p<0.0001), urinary incontinence (p=0.25), functional dependence (p<0.0001), depression (p=0.003) and poly pharmacy (p=0.009). Conclusion: Geraitric assessment even on out patient basis can help us to identify the biological risk factors for fall which enable us to make early interventions for fall prevention.

Keywords

• elderly population
• fall
• functional dependence
• depression
• poly pharmacy