Original articleFalls Among Adults Aging With Disability
Section snippets
Participants
Participants for present analyses came from the first time point of a longitudinal survey on aging with physical disability being conducted at the University of Washington's Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Aging with a Physical Disability. Participants were recruited through existing participant databases (47%), through online and print advertisements distributed by national disability organizations (40%), and from other sources (13%). Of the 2202 respondents, 2041 were eligible
Sociodemographic characteristics of participants
Sociodemographic variables of participants are presented in table 2. In all but the SCI group, survey respondents were predominately women (MS, 83%; MD, 58%; PPS, 75%; SCI, 33%) and non-Hispanic white (MS, 94%; MD, 96%; PPS, 94%; SCI, 85%). Only 14% of the respondents had a high school–level education or less; however, those with SCI had the largest proportion with low education (20%). Twenty-four percent of the respondents had a household annual income of <$25,000, with participants with SCI
Discussion
To our knowledge, this study represents the first attempt to compare the prevalence of falls across these 4 diagnostic groups of individuals with long-term physical disabilities. The study participants aging with MS, MD, PPS, and SCI had a higher prevalence of falls than did other community-dwelling older adults. The prevalence of falling was highest for those with MD (70%), followed by individuals with PPS (55%), MS (54%), and SCI (40%). These fall rates are similar to those previously
Conclusions
Preventing falls, especially in individuals aging with physical disabilities, is of significant importance to patients, caregivers, health care providers, and policymakers. A better understanding of the frequency, severity, and correlates of falls in various diagnostic and age groups is an important first step toward designing and implementing effective fall prevention programs for these individuals.
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Cited by (42)
Factors Associated With Walking Adaptability and Its Relationship With Falling in Polio Survivors
2022, Archives of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationRisk Factors Associated With Falls and Fall-Related Injuries Among Wheelchair Users With Spinal Cord Injury
2022, Archives of Rehabilitation Research and Clinical TranslationPolio survivors have poorer walking adaptability than healthy individuals
2021, Gait and PostureCitation Excerpt :Among the potential intrinsic factors studied in polio survivors, muscle weakness in the most-affected leg [1,5,12,13], fear of falling [1,12,14] and self-reported balance problems [1] have been associated with falls. However, some other studies reported no association between falling and leg-muscle weakness [2,3], or between falling and the severity of self-reported balance problems [2]. This suggests that extrinsic factors, like environmental circumstances may also contribute to falls in polio survivors.
Predicting falls and injuries in people with multiple sclerosis using machine learning algorithms
2021, Multiple Sclerosis and Related DisordersAdults with polio are at risk of hip fracture from middle age: A nationwide population-based cohort study
2019, InjuryCitation Excerpt :Most of them have abnormal gait patterns and require aids for walking because of motor impairments, such as muscular atrophy and weakness of the legs. Falling often occurs in persons who require aids for walking and have moderate gait impairment [3]. Patients with polio are hence at a greater risk of falls [4,5].
Balance, gait, and falls in spinal cord injury
2018, Handbook of Clinical NeurologyCitation Excerpt :The most frequent situations when falls occurred were driving on uneven surfaces or during transfers (Nelson et al., 2010; Wannapakhe et al., 2015; Jorgensen et al., 2016; Forslund et al., 2017). Studies revealed that patients with an iSCI who are ambulatory or with mild and moderate mobility limitations experience significantly more falls than patients who use a wheelchair for mobility (Matsuda et al., 2015; Wannapakhe et al., 2015; Jorgensen et al., 2016). Studies report a fall incidence of their observed cohorts between 34% and 82% (Brotherton et al., 2007a; Wirz et al., 2010b; Phonthee et al., 2013a, b; Wannapakhe et al., 2014; Srisim et al., 2015; Jorgensen et al., 2016, 2017).
Supported by the Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (grant no. H133B080024). However, the contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the federal government.
Disclosures: none.