Relationship of BMI and BMI Change with Falls at Carol Woods Retirement Community

Background: Several studies have investigated the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and falling; however, the results have been inconclusive. We are not aware of another study that has investigated the relationship between recent BMI change and the risk of falling in the elderly.Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the association of BMI and BMI change with the risk of falling in independent living persons over the age of 65.Methods: Data are from a cohort of 396 independent living residents of Carol Woods Retirement Community over the age of 65. Baseline measurements were taken in 2014 and 2015. The cohort was followed from January 1st, 2016 through December 31st, 2016 and examined for occurrence of falls. The incidence rate of new falls in the population was determined and the associations between falls and BMI, BMI change, and other covariates were examined utilizing Cox proportional hazards models.Results: There were 54 reported falls in 2016 (13.6%). The incidence rate of falls was 1.24 falls per hundred people per month. There was no statistically significant association between baseline BMI and the risk of falling. A one unit increase in BMI in the previous year was shown to decrease the hazard of experiencing a fall by 51.4% (=0.4860.349,0.675). Conclusions: A recent decrease in BMI is significantly associated with a higher risk of falling in independent living residents of Carol Woods Retirement Community.Bachelor of Science in Public Healt