Falls incidence and identification of a fall risk profile in community-dwelling older adults in Greece

Falls in older adults is a major health issue in contemporary ageing societies. Falls prevention strategies start with identifying older adults at high fall risk, then applying appropriate interventions, including exercise. The present study aimed to report on falls incidence and identify a profile of at-risk individuals among community-dwelling older adults in Greece. A total of 207 participants (mean age 72.7±6.3 years, 83% women), primarily from community centers and older adults’ groups in the Department of Rodopi1, Greece were assessed with regard to known fall risk factors, including demographic, clinical, psychological characteristics and physical performance. Chi-squared test and multivariate logistic regression analysis were applied. 37.6% of participants had a recent falls history. In the regression model, declining balance, depression, female gender and tertiary education significantly predicted fall risk: there was a 14.8% increase in odds of falling for one-unit decrease in the Berg Balance Scale score, three times higher odds of falling for older adults with depressive symptoms, women had 3.4 times and individuals with tertiary education 1.6 times higher odds of falling. These findings should raise awareness both among community members and professionals of various specialties, especially regarding encouragement of exercise uptake in older adults matching this profile.

Georgios Kontogiannis, Archontissa M. Kanavaki, Maria Michalopoulou, Georgios Ch. Sirakoulis, Athanasios Gkrekidis, Evgenia Kouli, Helen T. Douda, Ilias Smilios, Vasileios Gourgoulis, Nikolaos Aggelousis