Occurrence of falls in the elderly in the Family Health Strategy of Governador Valadares

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the history of falls and investigate health conditions and risk factors for falls in elderly subjects enrolled in the Family Health Strategy units. One hundred sixty-three elderly subjects registered in ten Family Health Strategy units were interviewed by applying a structured questionnaire to characterize living conditions, self-reported diseases, the occurrence of falls in the last 12 months, housing characteristics, and receiving visits from a health professional. In addition, the elderly underwent an anthropometric assessment. The results indicate a fall rate of 31.3%, with gender (p=0.032), self-report of how much furniture at home (p=0.013), and the presence of cardiometabolic/respiratory diseases (p=0.024) being the factors that are significantly related to the presence of falls in the last year. Elderly fallers had higher body mass index (p=0.014) and higher number of cardiometabolic/respiratory (p=0.015) and neuropsychological diseases (p=0.049). It can be concluded that approximately one-third of the elderly fell in the last year. A greater presence of falls occurs in women and the elderly with a higher presence of cardiometabolic/respiratory and neuropsychological diseases, in addition to higher body mass index and furniture at home.