Risk factors and prevention strategies for falls in elderly

The aim was to assess the frequency, risk factors and consequences of falls in elderly and the rate of reporting their occurrence to health professionals. Materials and methods: This is a cross-sectional study of 182 patients admitted to the National Institute of Geriatrics and Gerontology during December 2014-April 2015. Data was obtained from the medical records and by asking the patients to fill in a questionnaire. Results: 46.15% patients reported no fall during the previous year; 40.11% reported 1 fall; 17.34% were frequent fallers. We found a positive correlation between age and falls frequency (R=0.420. p=0.0001). There were significant associations between prevalent falls and: vestibular syndromes (p=0.001), postural hypotension (p=0.021), stroke (p=0.034) and foot deformities (p=0.048). The most important consequences were: pain (79.59%), limitations of the activities of daily life (46.94%), fear of falling (24.49%). Conclusions: Environmental hazards, vestibular syndromes, postural hypotension, vertigo, dizziness were the leading risk factor for falls in this study.