Correlates of Falls among Community-Dwelling Elderly in Thailand

Table 3

Falls history.

Event	Number ()	Percentage
Falls since 60 years old
None	300	73.9
Some	106	26.1
1 time	57	14.0
2 times	29	7.1
3 times	11	2.7
4 times	5	1.2
5 times	2	0.5
6 times	1	0.2
10 times	1	0.2
Falls in previous 6 months
None	360	88.7
Some	46	11.3
1 time	33	8.1
2 times	9	2.2
3 times	3	0.7
4 times	1	0.2
Falls in previous 3 months
None	376	92.6
Some	30	7.4
1 time	22	5.4
2 times	7	1.7
3 times	1	0.2
Attributed general causes of falls
Muscle weakness
No	339	83.5
Yes	67	16.5
Medication side effect
No	334	82.3
Yes	72	17.7
Medical condition/lack of assistive devices
No	357	87.9
Yes	49	12.1
Hazardous home environment
No	309	76.1
Yes	97	23.9
Specific causes of falls
Slippery shoes	51	10.8
Contact with other person/object	47	10.0
Slippery floor	40	8.5
Fatigue	39	8.3
Headache	25	5.3
Blurry vision	24	5.1
Muscle pain	24	5.1
Muscle weakness	22	4.7
Presbyopia	20	4.2
Dizziness	17	3.6
Slope/uneven ground	15	3.2
Cramp	13	2.8
Numb leg	13	2.8
Hard heeled shoes	13	2.8
Flushing toilet	12	2.5
Slippery bathroom	11	2.3
Foot abnormality	10	2.1
Long dress or sarong	10	2.1
Stumbling	9	1.9
Cesspool	9	1.9
Drowsiness	8	1.7
In a hurry to void	8	1.7
Foot numbness	7	1.5
General numbness	6	1.3
Poor lighting	5	1.1
Stairs	5	1.1
Muscle tension	3	0.6
High-heeled shoes	3	0.6
Skewness	2	0.4
Falls location
Outdoor	69	65.1
Indoor	25	23.6
Both	12	11.3
Indoor falls location
Kitchen	22	30.6
Bedroom	14	19.4
Living room	11	15.3
Terraces	11	15.3
Bathroom	7	9.7
Stairs	6	8.3
Roof	1	1.4
Outdoor falls location
House surroundings	52	69.3
Footpath/sidewalk	12	16.0
Street/road	4	5.3
Hospital/clinic	2	2.7
Sky walk/overpass	2	2.7
Mall/supermarket	1	1.3
Theatre	1	1.3
Temple	1	1.3
Falls-related health problems
None	3	2.8
Some	103	97.2
Physical consequences
Swelling/bruising	63	50.0
Pain	30	23.8
Abrasion	15	11.9
Fracture/dislocation	10	7.9
Laceration	6	4.8
Head injury	2	1.6
Treatment
Buying drugs at pharmacy	29	27.4
Hospital	28	26.4
No treatment	26	24.5
Resting at home for 1-2 days	14	13.2
Resting for “a while”	6	5.7
Clinic	3	2.8