Table 2 Health characteristics of the study participants by whether they fell in the past 12 months
| Fallsa in the past 12 months | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variableb |
All n (%) |
Yes n (% within fallers) |
No n (% within non-fallers) | P value |
| Difficulties in bathing or dressing | 0.001> | |||
| No difficulty | 2305 (73.4%) | 389 (52.3%) | 1916 (80.0%) | |
| Little difficulty | 439 (14.0%) | 143 (19.2%) | 296 (12.4%) | |
| Major difficulty/Disabled | 396 (12.6%) | 212 (28.5%) | 184 (7.7%) | |
| Difficulties in doing household activities | 0.001> | |||
| No difficulty | 1811 (58.2%) | 260 (35.4%) | 1551 (65.3%) | |
| Little difficulty | 556 (17.9%) | 144 (19.6%) | 412 (17.3%) | |
| Major difficulty/Disabled | 744 (23.9%) | 331 (45.0%) | 413 (17.4%) | |
| Memory and concentration difficulties | 0.001> | |||
| No difficulty | 1916 (61.9%) | 354 (48.8%) | 1562 (65.9%) | |
| Little difficulty | 978 (31.6%) | 274 (37.8%) | 704 (29.7%) | |
| Major difficulty/Disabled | 203 (6.6%) | 97 (13.4%) | 106 (4.5%) | |
| Difficulties in walking | 0.001> | |||
| No difficulty | 1495 (47.8%) | 206 (27.6%) | 1289 (54.1%) | |
| Little difficulty | 848 (27.1%) | 195 (6.2%) | 653 (27.4%) | |
| Major difficulty/Disabled | 721 (23.0%) | 306 (41.0%) | 415 (17.4%) | |
| No mobility | 66 (2.1%) | 39 (5.2%) | 27 (1.1%) | |
| Impaired vision, yes, n (%) | 862 (27.5%) | 276 (37.1%) | 586 (24.5%) | 0.001> |
| Hearing problems, yes, n (%) | 969 (32.5%) | 303 (42.5%) | 666 (29.4%) | 0.001> |
| Use of walking aids, yes, n (%) | 592 (19.2%) | 263 (36.9%) | 329 (13.9%) | 0.001> |
| Physical activity | 0.001> | |||
| Yes, n (%) | 1539 (48.9%) | 297 (39.7%) | 1242 (51.8%) | |
| No, n (%) | 1608 (51.1%) | 451 (60.3%) | 1157 (48.2%) | |
| Morbidity | ||||
| History of heart attack, yes, n (%) | 443 (14.1%) | 122 (16.4%) | 321 (13.4%) | 0.046 |
| Cardiac (arrhythmia/chronic heart failure), yes, n (%) | 630 (21.1%) | 227 (32.9%) | 403 (17.6%) | 0.001> |
| History of stroke, yes, n (%) | 266 (8.5%) | 96 (13.0%) | 170 (7.2%) | 0.001> |
| Diabetes mellitus, yes, n (%) | 1058 (33.8%) | 315 (42.1%) | 743 (31.2%) | 0.001> |
| Parkinson, yes, n (%) | 30 (1.0%) | 16 (2.2%) | 14 (0.6%) | 0.001 |
| Arthritis, yes, n (%) | 572 (18.7%) | 203 (28.4%) | 369 (15.7%) | 0.001> |
| Depression/Anxiety, yes, n (%) | 485 (15.6%) | 204 (27.9%) | 281 (11.8%) | 0.001> |
| Use of medications (number) | 0.001> | |||
| 0 | 346 (11.0%) | 47 (6.3%) | 299 (12.4%) | |
| 1–4 | 1776 (56.3%) | 339 (45.1%) | 1437 (59.8%) | |
| 5–8 | 729 (23.1%) | 233 (31.0%) | 496 (20.6%) | |
| > 8 | 306 (9.7%) | 133 (17.7%) | 173 (7.2%) | |
| Type of medications | ||||
| Sleeping medications, yes, n (%) | 578 (18.4%) | 200 (26.9%) | 378 (15.8%) | 0.001> |
| Mood medications, yes, n (%) | 351 (11.3%) | 148 (20.1%) | 203 (8.5%) | 0.001> |
| Body mass index (BMI kg/m2) | 0.43 | |||
| BMI-Underweight (< 18.5) | 33 (1.2%) | 6 (0.9%) | 27 (1.3%) | |
| BMI-Normal weight (18.5–24.9) | 883 (31.4%) | 197 (30.2%) | 686 (31.8%) | |
| BMI-Overweight (25.0–29.9) | 1234 (43.9%) | 282 (43.2%) | 952 (44.1%) | |
| BMI-Obese (≥30) | 661 (23.5%) | 168 (25.7%) | 493 (22.8%) | |
| Having fear of falling, yes, n (%) | 1416 (48.2%) | 507 (69.8%) | 909 (41.4%) | 0.001> |
| Interruption of activities due to fear of falling, yes, n (%) | 761 (56.0%) | 313 (65.2%) | 448 (51.0%) | 0.001> |