Research Article
Correlates of Falls among Community-Dwelling Elderly in Thailand
Table 4
Likelihood of falling by selected factors.
| | Variable | Falling, number (%) | value | | Never | Ever |
| | Residential location | | | <0.001 | | City | 88 (59.9) | 59 (40.1) | | | Town | 212 (81.9) | 47 (18.1) | |
| | Gender | | | 0.19 | | Male | 135 (77.1) | 40 (22.9) | | | Female | 165 (71.4) | 66 (28.6) | |
| | Age | | | 0.029 | | 60–64 | 153 (78.9) | 41 (21.1) | | | 65–69 | 147 (69.3) | 65 (30.7) | |
| | Marital status | | | 0.9 | | Single | 34 (69.4) | 15 (30.6) | | | Couple | 97 (77.0) | 29 (23.0) | | | Married | 138 (72.6) | 52 (27.4) | | | Divorced | 10 (71.4) | 4 (28.6) | | | Separated | 21 (77.8) | 6 (22.2) | |
| | Education | | | 0.009 | | Uneducated | 19 (79.2) | 5 (20.8) | | | Primary school | 137 (70.3) | 58 (29.7) | | | Secondary school | 60 (84.5) | 11 (15.5) | | | High school graduate | 38 (88.4) | 5 (11.6) | | | Vocational education | 12 (54.5) | 10 (16.7) | | | Bachelor’s degree | 5 (83.3) | 1 (16.7) | | | Master’s degree | 29 (64.4) | 16 (35.6) | |
| | Residence | | | 0.45 | | Own house | 241 (73.7) | 86 (26.3) | | | Relative’s house | 35 (70.0) | 15 (30.0) | | | Rental house | 24 (82.8) | 5 (17.2) | |
| | Number of family members in household | | | 0.13 | | 1 person | 9 (52.9) | 8 (47.1) | | | 2–4 persons | 228 (75.0) | 76 (25.0) | | | 5+ persons | 63 (74.1) | 22 (25.9) | |
| | Living arrangement | | | 0.08 | | Spouse | 203 (75.7) | 65 (24.3) | | | Children | 199 (74.8) | 67 (25.2) | | | Nephew/niece | 118 (70.2) | 50 (29.8) | | | Cousin | 16 (61.5) | 10 (38.5) | | | Others | 20 (76.9) | 6 (23.1) | | | Alone | 5 (55.6) | 4 (44.4) | |
| | Occupation | | | 0.59 | | Unemployed | 99 (69.2) | 44 (30.8) | | | Pensioner | 27 (75.0) | 9 (25.0) | | | Merchant | 48 (77.4) | 14 (22.6) | | | Employee | 41 (80.4) | 10 (19.6) | | | Gardener | 85 (74.6) | 29 (25.4) | |
| | Income | | | 0.5 | | Below poverty line (<2,647 baht/month) | 33 (70.2) | 14 (29.8) | | | Above poverty line (2,647+ baht/month) | 267 (74.4) | 92 (25.6) | |
| | BMI | | | 0.046 | | Underweight (<17.50 kg/m2) | 3 (100) | 0 | | | Normal weight (17.50–22.99 kg/m2) | 115 (78.8) | 31 (21.2) | | | Overweight (23.00–27.99 kg/m2) | 142 (74.0) | 50 (26.0) | | | Obese (≥28 kg/m2) | 40 (61.5) | 25 (38.5) | |
| | Vision | | | 0.001 | | Normal | 198 (79.5) | 51 (20.5) | | | Abnormal | 102 (65.0) | 55 (35.0) | | | Presbyopia | 63 (64.3) | 35 (35.7) | | | Blurry vision | 41 (64.1) | 23 (35.9) | | | Cataract | 7 (58.3) | 5 (41.7) | | | Glaucoma | 3 (100.0) | 0 | | | Pterygium | 7 (58.3) | 5 (41.7) | | | Hearing | | | 0.065 | | Normal | 276 (75.2) | 91 (24.8) | | | Abnormal | 24 (61.5) | 15 (38.5) | | | Hearing aids | 5 (83.3) | 1 (16.7) | | | Deaf | 17 (58.6) | 12 (41.4) | |
| | Diagnosis of chronic condition | | | <0.001 | | No | 144 (88.9) | 18 (11.1) | | | Yes | 156 (63.9) | 88 (36.1) | | | Diabetes | 53 (69.7) | 23 (30.3) | | | Heart | 12 (66.7) | 6 (33.3) | | | Hypertension | 105 (62.9) | 62 (37.1) | | | Hyperlipidemia | 64 (64.6) | 35 (35.4) | | | Benign prostate hypertrophy | 21 (60.0) | 14 (40.0) | |
| | Medication use | | | <0.001 | | No | 125 (90.6) | 13 (9.4) | | | Yes | 175 (65.3) | 93 (34.7) | | | Antianalgesic drugs | 29 (56.9) | 22 (43.1) | | | Bone and joint medicine | 5 (33.3) | 10 (66.7) | | | Antidiuretic drugs | 1 (16.7) | 5 (83.3) | | | Antihyperglycemic drugs | 53 (68.8) | 24 (31.2) | | | Cardiac medications | 13 (81.3) | 3 (18.8) | | | Antihypertensive drugs | 108 (64.3) | 60 (35.7) | | | Antihyperlipidemia drugs | 62 (64.3) | 34 (35.4) | | | Antidepressive | 1 (100.0) | 0 | | | Sleeping pill | 11 (78.6) | 3 (21.4) | | | Others | 12 (60.0) | 8 (40.0) | |
| | Alcohol drinking | | | 0.051 | | No | 281 (75.1) | 93 (24.9) | | | Yes | 19 (59.4) | 13 (40.6) | |
| | Muscle weakness | | | <0.001 | | No | 300 (88.5) | 39 (11.5) | | | Yes | 0 | 67 (100.0) | | | Weak | | 22 (33.8) | | | Fatigue | | 39 (60.0) | | | Cramp | | 13 (20.0) | | | Numb leg | | 13 (20.0) | | | Numb foot | | 7 (10.8) | | | Muscle tension | | 3 (4.6) | |
| | Medication side effect | | | <0.001 | | No | 319 (95.5) | 15 (4.5) | | | Yes | 42 (58.3) | 30 (41.7) | | | Headaches | | 25 (34.2) | | | Blurry vision | | 24 (32.9) | | | Drowsiness | | 8 (11.0) | | | Diuretic | | 8 (11.0) | | | Muscle aches | | 24 (32.9) | | | Numbness | | 6 (8.2) | | | Dizziness | | 17 (23.3) | |
| | Medical condition/lack of assistive devices | | | <0.001 | | No | 300 (84.0) | 57 (16.0) | | | Yes | 0 | 49 (100.0) | | | Myopia | | 18 (36.7) | | | Presbyopia | | 20 (40.8) | | | Skewness | | 2 (4.1) | | | Abnormal foot | | 10 (20.4) | |
| | Home hazard environment | | | <0.001 | | No | 300 (97.1) | 9 (2.9) | | | Yes | 0 | 97 (100.0) | | | Slippery floor | | 40 (41.2) | | | Slope/uneven ground | | 15 (15.5) | | | Stumbling | | 9 (9.3) | | | Contact with other person/object | | 47 (48.5) | | | Poor lighting | | 5 (5.2) | | | Stairs | | 5 (5.2) | | | Flushing toilet | | 12 (12.4) | | | Cesspool | | 9 (9.3) | | | Slippery bathroom | | 11 (11.3) | |
| | Footwear/clothing | | | <.0001 | | No | 300 (89.6) | 35 (10.4) | | | Yes | 0 | 71 (100.0) | | | Slippery shoes | | 51 (71.8) | | | High-heeled shoes | | 3 (4.2) | | | Hard-heeled shoes | | 13 (18.3) | | | Long dress/sarong | | 10 (14.1) | |
| | Indoor area | | | <0.001 | | No | 300 (85.2) | 52 (14.8) | | | Yes | 0 | 54 (100.0) | | | Bedroom | | 14 (25.5) | | | Kitchen | | 22 (40.0) | | | Living room | | 11 (20.0) | | | Terraces | | 11 (20.0) | | | Stairs | | 6 (10.9) | | | Bathroom | | 7 (12.7) | | | Roof | | 1 (1.8) | |
| | Outdoor area | | | <0.001 | | No | 300 (86.7) | 46 (13.3) | | | Yes | 0 | 60 (100.0) | | | Home surrounding | | 52 (82.5) | | | Foot path | | 12 (19.0) | | | Department store | | 1 (1.6) | | | Sky walk/overpass | | 2 (3.2) | | | Street/road | | 4 (6.3) | | | Theatre | | 1 (1.6) | | | Temple | | 1 (1.6) | | | Hospital/clinic | | 2 (3.3) | |
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