Citation

Choi EJ, Kim SA, Kim NR, Rhee JA, Yun YW, Shin MH. J. Korean Med. Sci. 2014; 29(11): 1482-1487.

Affiliation

Department of Preventive Medicine, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea. ; Center for Creative Biomedical Scientists, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Korea.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Korean Academy of Medical Science)

DOI

10.3346/jkms.2014.29.11.1482

PMID

25408578

Abstract

Falls are a major health problem for elderly populations worldwide. We analyzed data from the 2011 Korean Community Health Survey to identify potential risk factors for falls in a representative population-based sample of community-dwelling older Korean adults. Risk factors for falls were assessed by multivariate survey logistic regression models. The prevalence of falls was 36.5% in males and 63.5% in females. Age and female sex were associated with a higher risk of falls. Similarly, living alone, living in an urban area, poor self-rated health, and high stress were associated with a high risk of falls. Subjects with diabetes mellitus, stroke, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, urinary incontinence, cataracts, or depression had a high risk of falls. However, subjects with hypertension were at low risk for falls. In conclusion, age, female sex, marital status, residence location, self-rated health, stress, and several chronic conditions were significantly associated with the risk for falls in the older Korean adults. Our findings suggest that these risk factors should be addressed in public health policies for preventing falls.

Language: en