Quality of life among community-dwelling elderly persons with a history of previous falls

Abstract

ObjectiveThe aim of this research was to study perception of health-related quality of life (HRQL) among community-dwelling elderly persons with a history of accidental falls. Materials and methodsA descriptive analysis was made based on 198 community-dwelling elderly persons aged 65–75 (mean age 69.5 years, 48.5% female). A survey was used in order to find relevant information concerning age, gender, illnesses, falls and HRQL using the EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D) protocol. Qualitative results were presented as percentages, with a 95% confidence interval. Continuous data were compared with Mann–Whitney U test. ResultsThere are a greater percentage of subjects with illnesses within the group having a background of falls (FG – fall-group) than in the no-fall group (NFG). There are a higher percentage of subjects with EQ-5D limitations in the FG group (mobility 59.4%, self-care 29.0%, usual activities 60.6%, pain/discomfort 87.5% and anxiety/depression 62.5%) than in the NFG (mobility 28.8%, self-care 11.3%, usual activities 22.9%, pain/discomfort 65.4%, anxiety/depression 28.9%). A statistically significant difference of 20 points was found between groups in favor of NFG in terms of EQ-5D’ Visual Analog Scale score (P<.000) (FG 51.36±22.79, NFG 71.65±18.93). ConclusionsElderly persons having a history of falls in the last 12 months have poorer perception of HRQL than those without these events. Further investigations are needed in order to clarify if this is related to the falling itself or some other variables such as chronic illnesses.