Prevalence of Falling and its relation with Chronic diseases and Balance of Older Adults in Urmia City

Abstract

Introduction: Falling is one of the most common and serious health problems in the elderly people. As a result of aging , the muscles will be departed, so it will be difficult to balance and gait. This study aims to Prevalence of falling and its relation with chronic diseases and balance of Older Adults in Urmia city. Methods: This is a cross-sectional (descriptive-analytic) study in which 200 elderly people were selected by random cluster sampling method. Data were collected by using a two-part questionnaire which was included demographic information, common epidemic diseases and history of falling of the elderly people in the last year and Tinetti balance assessment questionnaire. Data were analyzed by using t- test and logistic regression in SPSS v.21 software. Results: The results of this study showed that, the rate of falling was 30 percent. Diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, arthritis, osteoarthritis, stroke, visual impairment, respiratory disease, fecal incontinence increase the risk of falling in the elderly people. Logistic Recession Results show that old age (OR = 4.2, p = .04; 95%CI = 0.87-1.3)female (OR = 2.2, p = .03; 95%CI = 0.59-2.7)chronic disease (OR = 1.7, p = .05; 95%CI = 0.49-3.07)Poor economic situation (OR = 1.4, p = .008; 95%CI = 0.57-7.3) Low balance (OR = 9.6, p < .0001; 95%CI = 2.3-7.1)،increased the likelihood of falling elderly. Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that the rate of falling in Iranian elderly people is relatively high. The appropriate and effective preventive interventions should be made according to effective factors in falling of older adults.