Abstract
Objective: to verify and compare the intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors for falls among older community-dwelling people with and without a stroke history. Methods: a case group and three control groups were established and each group had 15 elderly individuals. Results: the statistical associations were: use of antihypertensive medication among the groups with falls, despite the occurrence of a stroke; use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor for elderly with a stroke who had an event of fall or not; foot alterations between the case group and people without falls or stroke. Gait difficulty and impaired physical mobility were statistically associated between the case group and people without the occurrence of stroke or falls. Conclusion: the stroke is associated with falls and the intrinsic factors presented greater statistical correlations, supporting the hypothesis that many factors influence the occurrence of falls.
Highlights
Falls are still the leading cause of death in the elderly population due to injuries, and it contributes to a major cost to the healthcare system[1]
Many authors suggest that stroke is one of the most important risk factors for falls, since it aggravates the intrinsic conditions[3,4]
Since the majority of people who suffer a stroke are older people, this brings the hypothesis: the occurrence of falls is multifactorial in all groups of elderly people and a stroke episode can influence the increase of these factors, especially intrinsic ones and those related with physical conditions
Summary
Falls are still the leading cause of death in the elderly population due to injuries, and it contributes to a major cost to the healthcare system[1]. Falls are clearly linked to strokes, and people with strokes fall more often than aged individuals[3], especially in the first six months following discharge from acute rehabilitation[4]. This risk can be higher due to stroke occurrence as well as physiologic alterations due to the aging process[6]. Since the majority of people who suffer a stroke are older people, this brings the hypothesis: the occurrence of falls is multifactorial in all groups of elderly people and a stroke episode can influence the increase of these factors, especially intrinsic ones and those related with physical conditions
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