Background:

Fall injuries account for a substantial part of the health burden among elderly persons, and they often affect life quality severely and impose large societal costs. Alcohol intoxication is a well-known risk factor for accidental injuries, but less is known about this association among elderly people. In this study, our aim was to assess whether risk of fall injuries among the elderly is elevated with an intoxication-oriented drinking pattern.

Method:

We applied a population case-control design and data from persons aged 60 years and over in Norway. Cases comprised patients with fall injuries admitted to a hospital emergency department (n = 424), and controls were participants in general population surveys (n = 1859). Drinking pattern was assessed from self-reports of drinking frequency and intoxication frequency. Age and gender-adjusted association between fall injury and drinking pattern was estimated in logistic regression models. Fall injuries were considered alcohol-related if blood alcohol concentration exceeded 0.01% and/or the patient reported alcohol intake within six hours prior to injury.

Results:

The risk of fall injuries was highly elevated among those reporting drinking to intoxication monthly or more often (OR = 10.2, 95% CI 5.5–19.0). Among cases, the vast majority of those with alcohol-related fall injuries (64 of 68) reported drinking to intoxication.

Conclusions:

A drinking pattern comprising alcohol intoxication elevated the risk of fall injuries among elderly people. As alcohol use is a modifiable risk factor, the findings suggest a potential to curb the number of fall injuries and their consequences by employing effective strategies to prevent intoxication drinking among the elderly.

中文翻译：

---

酒精在老年人跌倒伤入院中的重要性：一项人群病例对照研究

背景：

跌倒伤害占老年人健康负担的很大一部分，往往严重影响生活质量并带来巨大的社会成本。酒精中毒是众所周知的意外伤害风险因素，但对老年人的这种关联知之甚少。在这项研究中，我们的目的是评估以中毒为导向的饮酒模式是否会增加老年人跌倒受伤的风险。

方法：

我们应用了来自挪威 60 岁及以上人群的人口病例对照设计和数据。病例包括住院急诊科的跌倒伤患者（n = 424），对照组是一般人群调查的参与者（n = 1859）。从饮酒频率和中毒频率的自我报告中评估饮酒模式。在逻辑回归模型中估计了跌倒损伤和饮酒模式之间的年龄和性别调整关联。如果血液酒精浓度超过 0.01% 和/或患者在受伤前 6 小时内报告饮酒，则认为跌倒损伤与酒精有关。

结果：

在那些报告每月或更频繁地饮酒中毒的人中，跌倒受伤的风险很高（OR = 10.2, 95% CI 5.5-19.0）。在这些案例中，绝大多数与酒精相关的跌倒损伤（68 人中的 64 人）报告说因饮酒而中毒。

结论：

包括酒精中毒在内的饮酒方式会增加老年人跌倒受伤的风险。由于饮酒是一个可改变的风险因素，研究结果表明，通过采用有效的策略来防止老年人酗酒，有可能减少跌倒伤害的数量及其后果。