Relationship between the occurrence of falls by season and physical functions of community-dwelling old-old people living in cold, snowy areas

Aim: To investigate the functional characteristics of older adults who experienced a fall in the winter season and other seasons.

Methods: Participants were 403 older adults enrolled in the project "Population-Based and Inspiring Potential Activity for Old-old Inhabitants," and were living in cold, snowy regions in Japan. They were aged ≥75 years, and 41.9% (n = 169) were men. Sociodemographic characteristics, and physical, psycho-cognitive and social factors were surveyed. By experiences of falls, they were divided into three groups: the non-fall group, the fall in non-winter group and the fall in winter group. Each factor was compared with a χ² -test, Student's t-test and Mann-Whitney U-test. Logistic regression analysis was carried out. spss version 25 was used for the statistical analysis. The level of significance was set at 5%.

Results: No differences were confirmed between the non-fall and fall in winter groups. In contrast, the maximum walking speed in the fall in non-winter group was significantly slower than the non-fall group, even with adjustment by variables, such as age, sex and self-efficacy.

Conclusions: When considering intervention methods for health promotion, it is necessary to consider not only the presence or absence of falls, but also the seasons of falls. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; 19: 124-129.