Sex Differences in the Circumstances Leading to Falls: Evidence From Real-Life Falls Captured on Video in Long-Term Care.
OBJECTIVES
Falls are a major health concern for older adults. Understanding sex differences in fall circumstances may guide the design of fall management plans specifically to men and women. In this study, analyzed real-life falls captured on video to compare scenarios leading to falls between men and women in 2 long-term care (LTC) facilities.


DESIGN
Prospective cohort study.


PARTICIPANTS/SETTING
A total of 529 participants residing in 2 LTC facilities in British Columbia, Canada.


MEASUREMENTS
Between 2008 and 2016, we video-captured 1738 falls experienced by 231 men and 298 women (mean age = 83 ± 9 years). Each video was analyzed to determine the causes of imbalance and the activities at time of falling. Using generalized estimating equation models, we examined how fall circumstances associated with age, sex, and health status.


RESULTS
Men were more likely than women to fall from loss of support with an external object (odds ratio 1.37; 95% confidence interval 1.08-1.73) and less likely to fall from tripping (0.72; 0.54-0.96). Men were more likely to fall while seated (1.42; 1.07-1.87) or while rising (1.49; 1.11-1.99), and less likely to fall while walking (0.61; 0.50-0.75). After adjusting for age and health status, sex remained significantly associated with loss of support and walking. Furthermore, regardless of sex, falls from loss of support were more common among individuals who were less independent in activities of daily living, who used more medications, and who used diuretic. Individuals with independent activities of daily living and intact cognition were more likely to fall while walking, but less likely to fall while seated or while rising.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results elucidate differences between older men and women in the scenarios that lead to falls, to inform sex-specific fall prevention strategies in the LTC setting.
['Yang|Yijian|Y|', 'van Schooten|Kimberley S|KS|', 'Sims-Gould|Joanie|J|', 'McKay|Heather A|HA|', 'Feldman|Fabio|F|', 'Robinovitch|Stephen N|SN|']
D000058:Accidental Falls D000369:Aged, 80 and over D001955:British Columbia D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008134:Long-Term Care D008297:Male D012737:Sex Factors D014741:Video Recording
sex Long-term care older adults health status accidental falls circumstances of falls