BACKGROUND Falls in older adults is a widely researched topic. However, older adults residing in public housing are a vulnerable population that may have unique risk factors for falls. This study aims to describe the prevalence and risk factors for falls, fear of falling, and seeking medical attending for falls in this population. METHODS Sociodemographic and health-related data was collected as part of a community-based health assessment program with older adults in public housing. Three pre-screening questions identified individuals at potential risk for falls; individuals who screened positive performed the objective Timed Up and Go (TUG) test. Logistic regression was used to evaluate risk factors for four outcome variables: falls in the past year, seeking medical attention for falls, fear of falling, and objectively measured fall risk via TUG test. RESULTS A total of 595 participants were evaluated, of which the majority were female (81.3%), white (86.7%), did not have a high school diploma (50.0%), and reported problems in mobility (56.2%). The prevalence of falls in the past year was 34.5%, seeking medical attention for falls was 20.2% and fear of falling was 38.8%. The TUG test was completed by 257 participants. Notably, males had significantly reduced odds of seeking medical attention for a fall (OR = 0.50, 95%CI 0.25-0.98) and having a fear of falling (OR = 0.42, 95%CI 0.24-0.76); daily fruit and vegetable consumption was associated with decreased odds of having a fall in the past year (OR = 0.55, 95%CI 0.37-0.83), and alcohol consumption was associated with increased odds of fear of falling (OR = 1.72, 95%CI 1.03-2.88). CONCLUSION Older adults residing in public housing have unique risk factors associated with social determinants of health, such as low fruit and vegetable consumption, which may increase their risk for falls. The findings of this study can be used to inform falls interventions for this population and identify areas for further research.

中文翻译：

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加拿大安大略省居住在公共住房中的老年人跌倒的风险和担心跌倒的风险：一项多站点观察研究的结果。

背景技术老年人跌倒是一个广泛研究的话题。但是，居住在公共住房中的老年人是弱势群体，可能有跌倒的独特风险因素。本研究旨在描述该人群跌倒，恐惧跌倒的患病率和危险因素，并寻求就医跌倒的医疗服务。方法社会人口统计学和健康相关数据是作为基于社区的健康评估计划的一部分而收集的，其中老年人入住公共住房。三个预先筛选的问题确定了个人有跌倒的潜在风险；筛查呈阳性的个体进行了客观的定时出门（TUG）测试。Logistic回归用于评估四个结果变量的风险因素：过去一年的跌倒，跌倒就医，对跌倒的恐惧，并通过TUG测试客观地测量跌倒风险。结果总共评估了595名参与者，其中大多数是女性（81.3％），白人（86.7％），没有高中文凭（50.0％）并且报告了行动不便的问题（56.2％）。在过去的一年中，跌倒的发生率为34.5％，跌倒就医的比率为20.2％，对跌倒的恐惧程度为38.8％。TUG测试由257名参与者完成。值得注意的是，男性因跌倒而寻求医疗救助的几率显着降低（OR = 0.50，95％CI 0.25-0.98），并且害怕跌倒（OR = 0.42，95％CI 0.24-0.76）；每日水果和蔬菜的摄入量与过去一年中下降的几率降低相关（OR = 0.55，95％CI 0.37-0.83），酒精饮料的摄入量与下降的可能性增加相关（OR = 1.72，95％ CI 1.03-2.88）。结论居住在公共住房中的老年人具有与健康的社会决定因素相关的独特风险因素，例如水果和蔬菜的低消费，这可能会增加他们跌倒的风险。该研究的结果可用于为该人群的跌倒干预提供信息，并确定需要进一步研究的领域。