The relationship between increased body mass index and frailty on falls in community dwelling older adults

BMC Geriatrics

Research Article

Matthew DL O’Connell¹  Lisa Crosby¹  Katie J Sheehan¹  Clodagh Cunningham¹  Rose Anne Kenny² 

[1] Technology Research for Independent Living (TRIL), St.James’s Hospital, Dublin, Ireland;Technology Research for Independent Living (TRIL), St.James’s Hospital, Dublin, Ireland;Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland;

关键词: Body Mass Index;    Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease;    Body Mass Index Category;    Community Dwelling;    Congestive Cardiac Failure;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2318-13-132

 received in 2012-11-27, accepted in 2013-11-26,  发布年份 2013

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe global population is becoming older and more overweight. The inter-relationship between frailty and falls is often seen in the older adult and is associated with poor health outcomes. Little is known about this relationship for those with excess body mass. This study aimed to assess the relationships between BMI, frailty and falls.MethodsFrailty, body mass index, clinical and demographic characteristics were assessed at baseline for 606 community dwelling adults aged 60 years and older. Falls were assessed prospectively with a semi-structured telephone interview two years later.ResultsAn increase in BMI contributed significantly to the identification of frail (Odds Ratio: 4.4; 95% Confidence Interval: 1.4, 13.6) older adults. A total of 346 falls by 148 participants were reported at follow up. Those with an increased BMI were significantly less likely to have experienced a fall between baseline and follow up assessments (p = 0.03). Despite these opposing trends a BMI greater than or equal to 30.0 kg.m2 did not alter the relationship between falls and frailty for the current cohort.ConclusionsThis is the first study to assess the falls-frailty relationship for those with an increased BMI. Obesity was found to be protective against falling but not specifically in frail older adults.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Sheehan et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2013