الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Older people make up a large and increasing percentage of the population. As people grow older they are increasingly at risk of falling and consequent injuries. A fall may be the first indication of an undetected illness. The prevention of falls is of major importance because they cause considerable mortality, morbidity and suffering for older people and their families, and incurs social costs due to hospital and nursing home admissions. This thesis was conducted to determine prevalence of fall and its common risk factors among elderly Egyptian males. It was a cross sectional study conducted on 200 elderly male aged 60 years and older attending the outpatient clinics at Ain Shams University hospital. The study showed that the prevalence of falls among elderly males was 27.5%; the mean age of the studied populations was 66.3±5.6 years, most of them were married, illiterate and either smoker or ex-smoker with average Body Mass Index 30.2±7.2. Most cases of falls result from a complex interplay of predisposing (intrinsic) and precipitating (extrinsic) factors in a person’s environment. The current study showed that the significant risk factors associated with falls were increasing age, functional impairment in ADL and IADL, visual impairment,hypertension, heart failure, peripheral neuropathy, diabetic foot, impairment of mobility and transfer, use of anti hypertensive drugs, higher timed up and go test scores and high risk status by FRAT risk score. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the independent risk factors of fall that can predict fall in our study were mobility disorders and visual impairment that should be screened and managed thoroughly to reduce falling in elderly. Comparing Fallers & Non fallers by different fall assessment tests, current study revealed a significant association between fallers and non fallers as regard TUG &FRAT test, and a less significant association as regard TST test with no association with FRT & SLST test. The FRAT tool can be used as a screening tool for falls among community dwelling elderly with high specificity and sensitivity. Appropriate assessments can help to identify those subjects who have an increased risk of falls, the underlying causes, and, ultimately, reduce the negative impact of falls in older adults and improve their quality of life. |