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- Eriksson, Staffan, 1969-
(författare)
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Falls in people with dementia
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Falls and concomitant injuries are common problems among large groups of the elderly population, leading to immobility and mortality. These problems are even more pronounced among people suffering from dementia. This thesis targets fall risk factors for people with dementia in institutions. The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate risk factors for falls, predisposing as well as related to circumstances surrounding falls, and to do this as efficiently as possible. In a prospective cohort study including residents of residential care facilities with and without dementia, the fall rate was higher for those with dementia, the crude incidence rate ratio (IRR) was 2.55 (95% CI 1.60–4.08) and the adjusted IRR was 3.79 (95% CI 1.95–7.36). In the group of people suffering from dementia, including 103 residents, a total of 197 falls resulted in 11 fractures during the 6-months follow-up period. From the same baseline measurements 26% and 55%, respectively, of the variation in falls could be explained in the group of residents with and without dementia. Fall predictors significantly and independently associated with an increased risk of falls in the group of people suffering from dementia were the category “man walking with an aid” and the use of more than four drugs. In a prospective cohort study, including 204 patients in a psychogeriatric ward, a total of 244 falls resulted in 14 fractures. Fall predictors significantly and independently associated with an increased risk of falls were male sex, failure to copy a design, use of clomethiazole, and walking difficulties. Treatment with statins was associated with a reduced risk of falls. With these fall predictors in the negative binomial regression (Nbreg) model, 48% of the variation in falls was explained. The data from the psychogeriatric ward were also analysed with the use of partial least squares regression (PLS) and regression tree to be compared with the results of the Nbreg analysis. PLS and regression tree are techniques based on combinations of variables. They both showed similar patterns, that a combination of a more severe level of dementia, behavioral complications and medication related to these complications is associated with an increased fall rate. Thirty-two percent and 38%, respectively, of the variation in fall rate were explained in the PLS and regression tree analysis. The circumstances surrounding the falls in the psychogeriatric ward were analysed. It was found that the fall rate was equally high during the night and the day. A large proportion of the falls was sustained in the patients’ own room and a small proportion of the falls was witnessed by the staff. This pattern was even more pronounced during the night. The proportion of diurnal rhythm disturbances and activity disturbances was higher for falls at night than for falls during the day. Circumstances associated with an increased risk of falls, as shown by a short time to first fall, were anxiety, darkness, not wearing any shoes and, for women, urinary tract infection. The proportion of urinary tract infection was also higher in connection to falls sustained by women than to falls sustained by men. This thesis confirms that people suffering from dementia are prone to fall. Walking difficulties, male sex and impaired visual perception are factors that should be considered in the work of reducing falls among people suffering from dementia. Furthermore, falls at night, behavioral complications and medication related to these complications should also be considered in this work, especially as the dementia disease progresses. A larger portion of the variation of the outcome variable was explained by the Nbreg model than the regression tree and PLS. However, these statistical methods, based on combinations of variables, gave a complementary perspective on how the fall predictors were related to falls.
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- Jensen, Jane, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of a fall prevention program including exercise on mobility and falls in frail older people living in residential care facilities
- 2004
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Ingår i: Aging Clinical and Experimental Research. - 1594-0667 .- 1720-8319. ; 16:4, s. 283-92
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Impaired mobility is one of the strongest predictors for falls in older people. We hypothesized that exercise as part of a fall prevention program would have positive effects, both short- and long-term, on gait, balance and strength in older people at high risk of falling and with varying levels of cognition, residing in residential care facilities. A secondary hypothesis was that these effects would be associated with a reduced risk of falling. METHODS: 187 out of all residents living in 9 facilities, > or =65 years of age were at high risk of falling. The facilities were cluster-randomized to fall intervention or usual care. The intervention program comprised: education, environment, individually designed exercise, drug review, post-fall assessments, aids, and hip protectors. Data were adjusted for baseline performance and clustering. RESULTS: At 11 weeks, positive intervention effects were found on independent ambulation (FAC, p=0.026), maximum gait speed (p=0.002), and step height (> or =10 cm, p<0.001), but not significantly on the Berg Balance Scale. At 9 months (long-term outcome), 3 intervention and 15 control residents had lost the ability to walk (p=0.001). Independent ambulation and maximum gait speed were maintained in the intervention group but deteriorated in the control group (p=0.001). Residents with both higher and lower cognition benefited in most outcome measures. Noassociation was found between improved mobility and reduced risk of falling.CONCLUSIONS: Exercise, as part of a fall prevention program, appears to preserve the ability to walk, maintain gait speed, ambulate independently, and improve step height. Benefits were found in residents with both lower and higher cognitive impairment, but were not found to be associated with a reduced risk of falling
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- Jensen, Jane, et al.
(författare)
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Fall and injury prevention in older people living in residential care facilities : A cluster randomized trial
- 2002
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Ingår i: Annals of Internal Medicine. - : American College of Physicians. - 0003-4819 .- 1539-3704. ; 136:10, s. 733-41
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Falls and resulting injuries are particularly common in older people living in residential care facilities, but knowledge about the prevention of falls is limited. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether a multifactorial intervention program would reduce falls and fall-related injuries. DESIGN: A cluster randomized, controlled, nonblinded trial. SETTING: 9 residential care facilities located in a northern Swedish city. PATIENTS: 439 residents 65 years of age or older. INTERVENTION: An 11-week multidisciplinary program that included both general and resident-specific, tailored strategies. The strategies comprised educating staff, modifying the environment, implementing exercise programs, supplying and repairing aids, reviewing drug regimens, providing free hip protectors, having post-fall problem-solving conferences, and guiding staff. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcomes were the number of residents sustaining a fall, the number of falls, and the time to occurrence of the first fall. A secondary outcome was the number of injuries resulting from falls. RESULTS: During the 34-week follow-up period, 82 residents (44%) in the intervention program sustained a fall compared with 109 residents (56%) in the control group (risk ratio, 0.78 [95% CI, 0.64 to 0.96]). The adjusted odds ratio was 0.49 (CI, 0.37 to 0.65), and the adjusted incidence rate ratio of falls was 0.60 (CI, 0.50 to 0.73). Each of 3 residents in the intervention group and 12 in the control group had 1 femoral fracture (adjusted odds ratio, 0.23 [CI, 0.06 to 0.94]). Clustering was considered in all regression models. CONCLUSION: An interdisciplinary and multifactorial prevention program targeting residents, staff, and the environment may reduce falls and femoral fractures.
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- Jensen, Jane, et al.
(författare)
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Fall and injury prevention in residential care : effects in residents with higher and lower levels of cognition
- 2003
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Ingår i: Journal of The American Geriatrics Society. - : Wiley. - 0002-8614 .- 1532-5415. ; 51:5, s. 627-35
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of a multifactorial fall and injury prevention program in older people with higher and lower levels of cognition. DESIGN: A preplanned subgroup comparison of the effectiveness of a cluster-randomized, nonblinded, usual-care, controlled trial.SETTING: Nine residential facilities in Umea, Sweden. PARTICIPANTS: All consenting residents living in the facilities, aged 65 and older, who could be assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE; n = 378).An MMSE score of 19 was used to divide the sample into one group with lower and one with higher level of cognition. The lower MMSE group was older (mean +/- standard deviation = 83.9 +/- 5.8 vs 82.2 +/- 7.5) and more functionally impaired (Barthel Index, median (interquartile range) 11 (6-15) vs 17 (13-18)) and had a higher risk of falling (64% vs 36%) than the higher MMSE group. INTERVENTION: A multifactorial fall prevention program comprising staff education, environmental adjustment, exercise, drug review, aids, hip protectors, and postfall problem-solving conferences. MEASUREMENTS: The number of falls, time to first fall, and number of injuries were evaluated and compared by study group (intervention vs control) and by MMSE group. RESULTS: A significant intervention effect on falls appeared in the higher MMSE group but not in the lower MMSE group (adjusted incidence rates ratio of falls P =.016 and P =.121 and adjusted hazard ratio P <.001 and P =.420, respectively). In the lower MMSE group, 10 femoral fractures were found, all of which occurred in the control group (P =.006). CONCLUSION: The higher MMSE group experienced fewer falls after this multifactorial intervention program, whereas the lower MMSE group did not respond as well to the intervention, but femoral fractures were reduced in the lower MMSE group
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| 10. |
- Jensen, Jane, et al.
(författare)
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Falls among frail older people in residential care
- 2002
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : SAGE Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 30:1, s. 54-61
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims: A prospective study was carried out to investigate the incidence, circumstances, and injuries from falls among frail older people living in three different types of Swedish residential care settings. Methods: The settings were senior citizens' apartments, an old people's home, and a group dwelling for people with dementia. The falls were registered during the three-year study period on a semi-structured fall report, and injurious falls were categorized according to severity. Results: In total 428 falls occurred among 121 residents. The incidence rate of falls at the group dwelling was twice the rates of the old people's home and senior citizens' apartments (4282 compared with 1709 and 2114 falls per 1000 person-years respectively). Some 27% of the falls occurred during the night (2100 h to 0600 h) and 28% were related to a visit to the lavatory. The presence of acute disease at the time of a fall was diagnosed in 23% of the falls. Some type of injury occurred in 118 falls (28%) and 36 of these (8%) led to moderate or serious injuries. In total 48 fractures were diagnosed. Conclusions: In a preventive programme for falls and injuries in residential care settings, areas of particular interest should include falls after mealtimes and falls at night, conditions of acute diseases, rising up from sitting, walking, and activities in progress, especially visits to the lavatory.
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