Diversity in fall characteristics hampers effective prevention: the precipitants, the environment, the fall and the injury

KM Sanders; K Lim; AL Stuart; A Macleod; D Scott; GC Nicholson; L Busija

Journal article

Diversity in fall characteristics hampers effective prevention: the precipitants, the environment, the fall and the injury

KM Sanders, K Lim, AL Stuart, A Macleod, D Scott, GC Nicholson, L Busija

Osteoporosis International | SPRINGER LONDON LTD | Published : 2017

DOI: 10.1007/s00198-017-4145-6

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Abstract

Summary: Falls among the elderly are common and characteristics may differ between injurious and non-injurious falls. Among 887 older Australian women followed for 1.6 years, 32% fell annually. Only 8.5% resulted in fracture and/or hospital admission. The characteristics of those falls are indistinguishable from those not coming to medical attention. Introduction: The precipitants and environment of all falls occurring among a large cohort of older Caucasian women were categorised by injury status to determine if the characteristics differed between injurious and non-injurious falls. Methods: Among 887 Australian women (70+ years), falls were ascertained using monthly postcard calendars and ..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Kerrie Sanders Author

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Funding Acknowledgements

The study was supported by project grant no. 251682 from the National Health and Medical Research Council and by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.