Ranging from the lower ambient temperature , the presence of snow cover , seasonal factors , and time of the day to location of fall , these factors have different levels of impact related to higher incidence or mortality of fall .
There existed systematic review on studies investigating the association between hip fractures and external risk factors including meteorological factors .
Albeit the fact that most serious common fall injury is a hip fracture , it can not account for all injuries forms of fall .
There was a lack of systematic review covering all fall-related injury or deaths to thoroughly summarise meteorological aspects of fall .
This study aim ed to systematic ally review epidemiological studies of fall and fall-related circumstances without restriction to hip fracture .
Incidence and predictors of falls in the chinese elderly.
INTRODUCTION This is the first prospect i ve longitudinal study carried out in a Chinese elderly population with the objective of identifying the incidence and predictors of falls . MATERIAL S AND METHODS This is a population -based cohort study in Hong Kong with 1517 ambulatory elderly Chinese recruited using a multi-stage sampling method . Baseline data on demographic , comorbid diseases , drugs , Activities of Daily Living ( ADL ) [ Barthel Index and Lawton 's Instrumental Activities of Daily Living ( IADL ) ] , Geriatric Depression Scale ( GDS-15 ) , cognitive assessment by the Abbreviated Mental Test ( AMT ) , fear of falling , self-perceived mobility problem , h and grip strength , lower limb power , balance and gait tests were performed . Every subject was followed up for 1 year . RESULTS Four hundred and one falls occurred in 294 fallers ( 19.3 % ) over 1 year of follow-up . The prevalence of falls and recurrent falls were 19.3 % and 4.75 % , respectively . The incidences of falls ( i.e. , the fall events ) were 220 , 324 and 270 per 1000 person-years for men , women and both gender , respectively . The independent predictors of falls were previous history of falls , advancing age , Parkinson 's disease , knee extension power and gait speed . The independent predictors of recurrent falls were previous history of falls , self-perceived mobility problem , the knee extension strength and the Total Mobility Score of the Tinetti Balance and Gait Evaluation . CONCLUSIONS The incidence of falls in the Chinese elderly was 270 per 1000 person-years . History of falls , old age , Parkinson 's disease , decreased lower limb power and impairment in balance and gait function were important independent predictors of falls or recurrent falls in the Chinese elderly . Effective fall prevention programmes targeted at improving these risk factors for falls should be developed for the Chinese elderly in Hong Kong and Asia
Ranging from the lower ambient temperature , the presence of snow cover , seasonal factors , and time of the day to location of fall , these factors have different levels of impact related to higher incidence or mortality of fall .
There existed systematic review on studies investigating the association between hip fractures and external risk factors including meteorological factors .
Albeit the fact that most serious common fall injury is a hip fracture , it can not account for all injuries forms of fall .
There was a lack of systematic review covering all fall-related injury or deaths to thoroughly summarise meteorological aspects of fall .
This study aim ed to systematic ally review epidemiological studies of fall and fall-related circumstances without restriction to hip fracture .