Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Falls among Rural Community-Dwelling Older People: A Cross-Sectional Study from Southern Sri Lanka

Table 3

Comparison of risk factors between fallers and nonfallers (n=300).

Characteristic		Fallers; n=103	Nonfallers; n=197	Significance; (p value)
Biological factors
Age	65-74 years	60 (58.3)	40 (20.3)	< 0.001
	75 years and above	43 (41.7)	157 (79.7)
Gender	Male	32 (31.1)	93 (47.2)	0.007
	Female	71 (68.9)	104 (52.8)
Presence of at least one chronic medical condition		81 (78.6)	102 (51.8)	< 0.001
Presence of more than one chronic medical condition		42 (40.8)	44 (22.3)	0.001
Presence of more than two chronic medical conditions		14 (13.6)	9 (4.6)	0.005
Diabetes Mellitus		31 (30.1)	26 (13.2)	< 0.001
Cardiac diseases		20 (19.4)	14 (7.1)	0.001
Hypertension		56 (54.4)	68 (34.5)	0.001
Hyperlipidemia		7 ( 6.8)	15 (7.6)	0.79
Vertigo/Dizziness		7 ( 6.8)	4 (2.0)	0.04
Arthritis		9 ( 8.7)	15 (7.6)	0.73
Chronic pulmonary diseases		7 ( 6.8)	10 (5.1)	0.54
Epilepsy		1 ( 1.0)	5 (2.5)	0.35
Vision impairment affecting day-to-day activities		93 (90.3)	137 (69.5)	< 0.001
Balance/gait problem or foot abnormality		68 (66.0)	41 (20.8)	< 0.001
Problem with sleep such as insomnia		72 (69.9)	72 (36.5)	< 0.001
Behavioral factors
Usage of at least one long term medication		64 (62.1)	75 (38.1)	< 0.001
Usage of more than one long term medication		32 (31.1)	30 (15.2)	0.001
Usage of more than two long term medications		8 (7.8)	9 ( 4.6)	0.25
Antihypertensive drugs		46 (44.7)	63 (32.0)	0.03
Oral hypoglycemic drugs		28 (27.2)	21 (10.7)	< 0.001
Cardiac/lipid lowering drugs		23 (22.3)	22 (11.2)	0.01
Steroids		8 ( 7.8)	8 ( 4.1)	0.17
Consumption of alcohol		18 (17.5)	53 (26.9)	0.06
Smoking		11 (10.7)	26 (13.2)	0.52
Time duration of exposure to sunlight per day	≤ 3 hours	74 (71.8)	84 (42.6)	< 0.001
	>3 hours	29 (28.2)	113 (57.4)
Nutritional status	Satisfactory	47 (45.6)	59 (29.9)	0.007
	Unsatisfactory	56 (54.4)	138 (70.1)
Usage of walking aids		25 (24.3)	6 ( 3.0)	< 0.001
Use of spectacles		53 (51.5)	91 (46.2)	0.38
Environmental factors
Floor material	Cement/tile	92 (89.3)	195 (99.0)	< 0.001
	Other	11 (10.7)	2 (1.0)
Light source of the house	Electricity	95 (92.2)	195 (99.0)	0.002
	Other	8 (7.8)	2 (1.0)
Water source	Inside home	78 (75.7)	178 (90.4)	0.001
	Outside home	25 (24.3)	19 (9.6)
Socioeconomic factors
Level of education	Grade 5 or below	51 (49.5)	65 (33.0)	0.005
	Beyond grade 5	52 (50.5)	132(67.0)
Living arrangement	With spouse or children	90 (87.4)	178 (90.4)	0.42
	Alone	13 (12.6)	19 (9.6)
Monthly income; (Sri Lankan Rupees)	< 20000	100(97.1)	181 (91.9)	0.07
	20000 or more	3 (2.9)	16 (8.1)