@article{ref1,
title="Late-life anemia is associated with increased risk of recurrent falls",
journal="Journal of the American Geriatrics Society",
year="2005",
author="Penninx, Brenda W. J. H. and Pluijm, Saskia M. F. and Lips, Paul and Woodman, Richard and Miedema, Kor and Guralnik, Jack M. and Deeg, Dorly J. H.",
volume="53",
number="12",
pages="2106-2111",
abstract="Objectives: To examine whether anemia is associated with a higher incidence of recurrent falls. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: Community-dwelling sample in the Netherlands. Participants: Three hundred ninety-four participants aged 65 to 88 from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. measurements: Anemia was defined according to World Health Organization criteria as a hemoglobin concentration less than 12 g/dL in women and less than 13 g/dL in men. Falls were prospectively determined using fall calendars that participants filled out weekly for 3 years. Recurrent fallers were identified as those who fell at least two times within 6 months during the 3-year follow-up. Results: Of the 394 persons, 11.9% (18 women and 29 men) had anemia. The incidence of recurrent falls was 38.3% of anemic persons versus 19.6% of nonanemic persons (P=.004). After adjustment for sex, age, body mass index, and diseases, anemia was significantly associated with a 1.91 times greater risk for recurrent falls (95% confidence interval=1.09-3.36). Poor physical function (indicated by muscle strength, physical performance, and limitations) partly mediated the association between anemia and incidence of recurrent falls. Conclusion: Late-life anemia is common and associated with twice the risk of recurrent falls. Muscle weakness and poor physical performance appear to partly mediate this association.",
language="",
issn="0002-8614",
doi="10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.00491.x",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.00491.x"
}