@article{ref1,
title="Falls, non-accidental falls and syncope in community-dwelling adults aged 50 years and older: implications for cardiovascular assessment",
journal="PLoS one",
year="2017",
author="Bhangu, Jaspreet and King-Kallimanis, Bellinda L. and Donoghue, Orna A. and Carroll, Laura and Kenny, Rose Anne",
volume="12",
number="7",
pages="e0180997-e0180997",
abstract="OBJECTIVES: To calculate the prevalence of all falls, non-accidental falls and syncope in an older population and characterize cardiovascular risk profiles. <br><br>DESIGN: Prospective, longitudinal cohort study. SETTING: The first two waves of data from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). PARTICIPANTS: 8172 community-dwelling adults aged 50 years and older resident in the Republic of Ireland. MEASUREMENTS: Self-reported history of all falls, non-accidental falls and syncope in the year preceding the first two waves of data collection. Demographic factors and self-reported cardiovascular conditions were used to characterize cardiovascular risk profiles. <br><br>RESULTS: The prevalence of all falls in the past year was 19.2% or 192 per thousand persons and increased with age (50-64 years 17.5%; 65-74 years 19.4%; 75+ years 24.4%). Non-accidental falls had an estimated prevalence of 5.1% or 51 falls per thousand persons and accounted for 26.5% of all falls reported and also increased with age (50-64 years 4.0%; 65-74 years 5.5%; 75+ years 8.0%). The prevalence for syncope was estimated to be 4.4% or 44per thousand persons but did not show a similar age gradient. Participants with at least 5 cardiovascular conditions were more likely to report all falls (OR = 2.07, 95% CI 1.18-3.64, p<0.05) and NAF (OR = 2.89, 95%CI 1.28-6.52, p<0.05). <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of all falls and non-accidental falls increases with age but the same pattern was not consistently observed for syncope. There is an increased odds of reporting all three outcomes with increasing number of self-reported cardiovascular conditions. Further work is needed to uncover the interplay between cardiovascular disease and subsequent falls.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1932-6203",
doi="10.1371/journal.pone.0180997",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0180997"
}