Sau Po Centre on Ageing

Falls and fall-related injuries in community-dwelling elderly persons in Hong Kong: a study on risk factors, functional decline, and health services utilisation after falls Key Messages 1. The incidence of falls and the prevalence of those who have en-countered a fall in the community-dwelling elderly in Hong Kong was 270 per 1000 person-years and 19.3%, respectively. Serious injuries and fractures occur in 7.2 and 5.9 % of fallers, respectively. 2. Independent predictors for falls are advancing age, Parkinson’s disease, previous history of falls, left knee extension power and gait speed. Independent predictors for recurrent falls are previous history of falls, self-perceived mobility problems, left knee extension power, total mobility score in the Tinetti Balance and Gait Test. 3. ‘Fear of falling ’ is a common post-fall complication. 4. Fallers commonly experience de-cline in physical functions and the activity of daily living. 5. Fallers, particularly recurrent fallers, consume more health care services than non-fallers. The excess annual health care costs of fallers versus non-fallers amount to HK$552 million for all community-living elderly in Hong Kong. 6. Effective falls prevention pro-grammes in Hong Kong might reduce falls and fall-related health service utilisation by up to 30%. The possible saving in public health care costs would be approximately HK$160 million annually. Hong Kong Med J 2007;13(Suppl 1):S8-1