Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Volume 89, Issue 6 , Pages 1031-1037, June 2008

Injurious Falls Among Middle Aged and Older Adults With Multiple Sclerosis

Presented to the Gerontological Society of America, November 17, 2006, Dallas, TX.

  • Elizabeth W. Peterson, MPH, OTR/L

      Affiliations

    • Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL
    • Department of Neurobiology Care Sciences and Society, Division of Occupational Therapy, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden.
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests to Elizabeth W. Peterson, MPH, OTR/L, Dept of Occupational Therapy, University of Illinois, Mail Code 811, 1919 W Taylor St, Chicago, IL 60612-7250
    • ,
  • Chi C. Cho, MS

      Affiliations

    • Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL
    • ,
  • Lena von Koch, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Neurobiology Care Sciences and Society, Division of Occupational Therapy, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden.
    • ,
  • Marcia L. Finlayson, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL

Abstract 

Peterson EW, Cho CC, von Koch L, Finlayson ML. Injurious falls among middle aged and older adults with multiple sclerosis.

Objective

To determine the prevalence of, and risk factors for, receiving medical attention for a recent injurious fall among middle-aged and older adults who have multiple sclerosis (MS).

Design

Survey.

Setting

United States.

Participants

Seven hundred people with MS, age 55 years or older and living in the United States, were randomly selected from the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis Registry and invited by mail to participate in the study. A total of 354 people, aged 55 to 94 years, completed the survey.

Interventions

Not applicable.

Main Outcome Measures

Participant's self-report regarding receipt of medical care for a fall-related injury (received care within the past 6mo, >6mo ago, or never).

Results

More than 50% of study participants reported injurious falls; 12%, in the 6 months before the interview. Proportional odds models were used to identify factors associated with increased odds of receiving medical attention for a fall-related injury within the past 6 months. Compared with study participants who reported receiving medical attention for a fall-related injury more than 6 months ago or never, participants who reported receiving medical attention for a fall-related injury within the past 6 months were more likely to report fear of falling (odds ratio [OR]=1.94; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.27−2.96) and osteoporosis (OR=1.65; 95% CI, 1.03–2.62).

Conclusions

Injurious falls were commonly reported by survey participants. Findings suggest that management of fear of falling and osteoporosis are important components of comprehensive fall-injury prevention programs for people aging with MS.

Key Words: Accidental falls, Multiple sclerosis, Rehabilitation, Wounds and injuries

 

 Supported by the Retirement Research Foundation (grant no. 2004-065).

 No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit upon the authors or upon any organization with which the authors are associated.

PII: S0003-9993(08)00175-5

doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2007.10.043

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Volume 89, Issue 6 , Pages 1031-1037, June 2008

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