Evaluation of risk factors for falls among elderly patients attending a teaching hospital in southern Nigeria: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Falls are a common and often devastating problems among older adults causing tremendous morbidity, mortality and use of health care services. The aim of the study was to evaluate the risk factors for falls among elderly patients attending Family Medicine clinic of Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH), Irrua, Nigeria. The study was a hospital based cross-sectional study of 288 participants aged 60 years and above, selected through systematic random sampling. Data was collected through an interviewer administered structured questionnaire and analysed using IBM SPSS version 20.0. Results were presented using frequency tables, charts, and in simple percentages. Relative risk, chi square and logistic regression were used to test for association. Level of significance set at P value < 0.05%. A prevalence of 25.9% of falls among the elderly was reported in this study. Falls was significantly associated with tobacco smoking (p = 0.024), impaired gait and balance (p = 0.002), cognitive impairment (p = 0.002) and the presence of environmental hazard (p = 0.003).The study found tobacco smoking, impaired gait and balance, cognitive impairment and presence of environmental hazard to be associated with falls among the elderly. Screening for risk factors will help prevent falls or ameliorate injuries arising from falls among elderly.