Severity of injuries associated with falls in the community dwelling elderly are not affected by fall characteristics and physical function level

Many elderly people experience difficulty with independent living after injuries associated with falls. This study aimed to examine the influence of fall characteristics and physical function level on the severity of fall related injuries. The surveys were conducted in 1955 community dwelling elderly. The questions regarded the following: fall experience within the past year, fall direction, fall cause, injured parts and degree of injury, and an activity of daily living (ADL) questionnaire from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Japan. Data of 1850 subjects with available and complete responses were used for analysis. Three hundred and eighty-six (20.9%) elderly people experienced a fall within the past year and 257 (66.7%) were injured. ADL score was significantly higher in the elderly without fall experience than the elderly with fall experience. No significant difference was found in frequency of fall cause and fall direction between the elderly with and without injuries caused by falling. Significant correlations were found between fall direction and fall cause and injured parts (φ = 0.49 and 0.32). ADL score of the elderly who fell by leg backlash was significantly lower than that of the elderly who fell by tripping, slipping and staggering. A decrease of ADL affects the rate of falls in the elderly, but not the degree of injury. Fall characteristics may not be related to the extent of fall injury. © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved