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Srpski arhiv za celokupno lekarstvo 2018 Volume 146, Issue 7-8, Pages: 396-402
https://doi.org/10.2298/SARH170529171I
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Identifying elderly persons who are at risk of falling and fall risk factors in the general population

Ivanović Sunčica (College of Health Studies, Ćuprija)
Trgovčević Sanja (College of Health Studies, Ćuprija)
Kocić Biljana (Institute of Public Health, Niš + Faculty of Medical Sciences, Department Epidemiology Infectology, Niš)
Todorović-Tomašević Snežana (Clinical Center of Vojvodina, Department for Medical Rehabilitation, Novi Sad + Faculty of Medical Sciences, Department for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Novi Sad)
Jeremić-Knežević Milica ORCID iD icon (Faculty of Medical Sciences, Department of Dentistry, Novi Sad)
Knežević Aleksandar (Clinical Center of Vojvodina, Department for Medical Rehabilitation, Novi Sad + Faculty of Medical Sciences, Department for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Novi Sad)

Introduction/Objective. The aim of this study was to identify the elderly who are at increased risk of falling, as well as the risk factors for falls in the general population. Methods. This cross sectional study included a random sample of 400 people (164 men and 236 women) with the average age of 75.04 (65–94) years selected from the Register of the Primary Health Center in Niš, Serbia. Socio-demographic questionnaire, the Elderly Fall Screening Test, and the Multi-factor Falls Questionnaire were used. Odds ratio (OR) was evaluated and adjusted for gender, age, marital status, education level, and self-assessment of the health state. Results. The risk of falling and risk factors for falls were as follows: age [odds ratio (OR) = 1.129, confidence interval (CI) = 1.067–1.196], health self-assessed as good (OR = 0.365; CI = 0.142–0.938), limitation of activities (OR = 7.189; CI = 3.559–14.522), walking problems (OR = 2.153; CI = 1.046–4.428), osteoporosis (OR = 4.611; CI = 1.231–17.265), female gender (OR = 3.770, CI = 1.648–8.624), vision problems (OR = 2.719; CI = 1.588–108.581), cognitive problems (OR = 4.485; CI = 17.721), arthritis (OR = 6.524; CI = 2.077–20.496), and urination problems (OR = 2.511; CI = 1.083–5.820). Conclusion. Risk factors for falls were the following: age, self-assessment of health state, walking problems, osteoporosis, female gender, vision problems, arthritis, and urination problems.

Keywords: elderly, risk of falling, factors, assessment, general population