@article{ref1,
title="Vitamin D and the mechanisms, circumstances and consequences of falls in older adults: a case-control study",
journal="Journal of nutrition, health, and aging",
year="2017",
author="Duval, G. T. and Paré, P-y and Gautier, J. and Walrand, S. and Dinomais, M. and Annweiler, C.",
volume="21",
number="10",
pages="1307-1313",
abstract="OBJECTIVES: To determine i) whether cases of elderly fallers had lower serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) concentration than controls without history of falls; and ii) whether serum 25OHD concentration was associated with specific mechanisms, circumstances and consequences of falls. <br><br>DESIGN: Case-control study with a 1:2 ratio. SETTING: Geriatric ward of the University Hospital of Angers, France, between February 2012 and March 2014. PARTICIPANTS: 216 inpatients (72 cases and 144 age- and gender-matched controls). MEASUREMENT: Falls were defined as involuntary events causing the person to the ground or other lower level. The main mechanisms, circumstances and consequences of falls were identified using standardized questionnaires. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as serum 25OHD concentration ≤25nmol/L. Age, gender, body mass index, polypharmacy, use antihypertensive drugs, use psychoactive drugs, disability, cognitive performance, serum concentrations of parathyroid hormone, creatinine and albumin, and season of evaluation were used as potential confounders. <br><br>RESULTS: 216 participants (72 cases and 144 controls) were included in the study. There was no between-group difference in the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (P=0.176). After adjusting for confounding factors, vitamin D deficiency was positively associated with falls (OR=4.03, P=0.014). Finally, the fallers with vitamin D deficiency exhibited more often orthostatic hypotension (68.8% against 33.3%, P=0.039) and a history of recurrent falls (85% against 50%, P=0.002) than those without vitamin D deficiency. <br><br>CONCLUSION: This case-control study reported that vitamin D deficiency was associated with falls in older inpatients. There was a greater prevalence of orthostatic hypotension and of the reccurrence of falls among fallers with vitamin D deficiency, suggesting that vitamin D may influence the conditions predisposing to falls rather than the fall by itself.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1279-7707",
doi="10.1007/s12603-016-0857-0",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12603-016-0857-0"
}