Association between falling direction and age in older patients with hip fractures

Abstract

Background: The incidence of fall-related hip fractures in old patients aged over 85 years was reported to be higher than that in old patients aged between 65 and 84 years; however, there are no known studies that reported differences of these age groups with respect to the falling situation. Objective: This study investigated the association between age and falling direction in patients with hip fractures. Material and methods: This study analyzed the medical records of older patients with fall-related hip fractures who were hospitalized in 2011–2018. Demographic (sex, age, and body mass index, BMI), medical and clinical (body mineral density, type of fracture, and cognitive function), and lifestyle variables (use of assistive device for locomotion and place of residence) and characteristics of falling (direction and location) were extracted. These were compared between the patients aged between 65 and 84 years (65–84 group) and over 85 years (85+ group). Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate associations with each falling direction (forward, sideways, and backward) with other variables. Results: Compared with the 65–84 group, the proportion of hip fractures due to sideways falls was lower in the 85+ group (P < 0.05) while the proportion of hip fractures due to backward falls was higher in the 85+ group. The multivariable logistic regression analysis showed the sideways and backward falling were only associated with the age group. Conclusion: These results suggested that the falling direction was associated with age but not with other variables investigated in this study in older patients with hip fractures.