Abstract
BackgroundFall risk assessment and determination of older adults’ individual risk profiles are crucial elements in fall prevention. As such, it is essential to establish cutoffs and reference values for high and low risk according to key risk factor outcomes. This study main objective was to determine the key physical fitness, body composition, physical activity, health condition and environmental hazard risk outcome cutoffs and interval reference values for stratified fall risk assessment in community-dwelling older adults.MethodsFive-hundred community-dwelling Portuguese older adults (72.2 ± 5.4 years) were assessed for falls, physical fitness, body composition, physical (in) activity, number of health conditions and environmental hazards, and sociodemographic characteristics.ResultsThe established key outcomes and respective cutoffs and reference values used for fall risk stratification were multidimensional balance (low risk: score > 33, moderate risk: score 32–33, high risk: score 30–31, and very high: score < 30); lean body mass (low risk: > 44 kg, moderate risk: 42–44 kg, high risk: 39–41 kg, and very high: < 39 kg); fat body mass (low risk: < 37%, moderate risk: 37–38%, high risk: 39–42%, and very high: > 42%); total physical activity (low risk: > 2800 Met-min/wk., moderate risk: 2300–2800 Met-min/wk., high risk: 1900–2300 Met-min/wk., and very high: < 1900 Met-min/wk); rest period weekdays (low risk: < 4 h/day, moderate risk: 4–4.4 h/day, high risk: 4.5–5 h/day, and very high: > 5 h/day); health conditions (low risk: n < 3, moderate risk: n = 3, high risk: n = 4–5, and very high: n > 5); and environmental hazards (low risk: n < 5, moderate risk: n = 5, high risk: n = 6–8, and very high: n > 8).ConclusionsAssessment of community-dwelling older adults’ fall risk should focus on the above outcomes to establish individual older adults’ fall risk profiles. Moreover, the design of fall prevention interventions should manage a person’s identified risks and take into account the determined cutoffs and respective interval values for fall risk stratification.
Highlights
Fall risk assessment and determination of older adults’ individual risk profiles are crucial elements in fall prevention
Fall risk assessment has been identified as a crucial element in fall prevention; most likely, such assessment enables the identification of older adults who are at high risk of falling, thereby allowing the person to participate in a fall prevention program [5]
17 respondents were excluded: ten were aged less than 65 years, three showed a cognitive decline, and three had suffered recent health conditions resulting in a temporary loss of physical fitness or dependence
Summary
Fall risk assessment and determination of older adults’ individual risk profiles are crucial elements in fall prevention. Fall risk assessment has been identified as a crucial element in fall prevention; most likely, such assessment enables the identification of older adults who are at high risk of falling, thereby allowing the person to participate in a fall prevention program [5]. Such assessment is important because many older adults lack the perception of their own fall risk [6], as do some caregivers [7]. The screening may serve to measure and rank a person’s risk of falling, there is not a consensus on the definition of high- low risk [9]
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