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The Journal of the American Board of Family Practice, Vol 15, Issue 3 178-182, Copyright © 2002 by American Board of Family Practice

ARTICLES

Falls in rural elders: an empirical study of risk factors

D. R. Richardson, M. J. Hicks and R. B. Walker
Department of Family and Community Health, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Marshall University, Huntington, WV 25755-2300, USA.

BACKGROUND: Our objective was to analyze and determine several risk factors of falls in the rural elderly population. Our study examined several variables believed to be positively correlated with the likelihood of an elderly person sustaining a fall. METHODS: Analysis was performed on a prospective study of 308 community-dwelling rural elders during a span of 6 years. Factors such as prescription medication, eyesight, age, sex, recent hospitalizations, and personal health ratings were analyzed through a series of advanced empirical techniques. RESULTS: Of the five significant variables found in our analysis, four were different types of prescription drugs. The biometric results suggest the probability of falling increases by as much as 4% for each year of age. Prescription painkillers increase the probability of falling by 20% to 85%. Arthritis medication decreases the probability of falling by 20% to 60%. CONCLUSION: Although our results are necessary to the body of falls research, further study is required for precise determination of those medications found to be statistically significant in our analysis.




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