Abstract
Morbidity related is important in older adults who fall and are consequently referred to emergency departments (ED). The aim of this study is to determine 6-month all-causes mortality in patients over 75 years referred to an emergency department after a fall at home, and to define the criteria associated with death. The design was a prospective observational study with a 6-month follow-up in an Emergency Department of a tertiary teaching hospital, Paris, France. We included for a 6-month period patients over 75 years who visited the Emergency Department for a fall that occurred at home and measured the 6-month all-causes mortality. Uni- and multivariate assessment of factors related to mortality were adjusted for the occurrence of trauma. We enrolled 433 patients. Mean age was 86 years and two-thirds were women. The population was in relatively good health and preserved autonomy. The prevailing consequence was trauma and 11% had metabolic disorders. 64 patients (15%) died within 6 months. Factors associated with mortality included decrease in Katz score, male gender, a fall of intrinsic origin and the occurrence of adverse metabolic events. Markers of fragility such as poor previous level of autonomy, clinical disorders and metabolic abnormalities, as cause or consequence, indicate a potentially poor outcome more than the presence of severe trauma. As metabolic abnormalities can be an indirect marker of a long delay before emergency medical care, this study underscored the importance of early warning system for the frailest old individuals in order to prevent such complications.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Tinetti ME, Speechley M. Prevention of falls among the elderly. N Engl J Med. 1989;320:1055–9.
Oakley A, Dawson MF, Holland J, et al. Preventing falls and subsequent injury in older people. Qual Health Care. 1996;5:243–9. doi:10.1136/qshc.5.4.243.
Rivara FP, Grossman DC, Cummings P. Injury prevention. N Engl J Med. 1997;337:543–7. doi:10.1056/NEJM199708213370807.
Rubenstein LZ, Josephson KR, Robbins AS. Falls in the nursing home. Ann Intern Med. 1994;121:442–51.
Van Weel C, Vermeulen H, van den Bosch W. Falls: a community care perspective. Lancet. 1995;345:1549–51. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(95)91091-3.
Richmond J, Aharonoff GB, Zuckerman JD, Koval KJ. Mortality risk after hip fracture. J Orthop Trauma. 2003;17:53–6. doi:10.1097/00005131-200301000-00008.
Wild D, Nayak US, Isaacs B. How dangerous are falls in old people at home? Br Med J (Clin Res Ed). 1981;282:266–8. doi:10.1136/bmj.282.6260.266.
Hauer K, Lamb SE, Jorstad EC, Todd C, Becker C, PROFANE-Group. Systematic review of definitions and methods of measuring falls in randomised controlled fall prevention trials. Age Ageing. 2006;35:5–10. doi:10.1093/ageing/afi218.
Katz SC, Ford AB, Moskowitz RW. Studies of illness in the aged. The index of ADL: a standardized measure of biological and psychosocial function. JAMA. 1963;185:914–9.
Sattin RW, Lambert-Huber DA, DeVito CA, Rodriguez JG, Ros A, Bacchelli S, et al. The incidence of fall injury events among the elderly in a defined population. Am J Epidemiol. 1990;131:1028–37.
Christakis NA, Allison PD. Mortality after the hospitalization of a spouse. N Engl J Med. 2006;354:719–30. doi:10.1056/NEJMsa050196.
Walter-Ginzburg A, Blumstein T, Guralnik JM. The Israeli kibbutz as a venue for reduced disability in old age: lessons from the cross-sectional and longitudinal aging study (CALAS). Soc Sci Med. 2004;59:389–403. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2003.10.026.
Von Strauss E, Agüero-Torres H, Kareholt I, Winblad B, Fratiglioni L. Women are more disabled in basic activities of daily living than men only in very advanced ages: a study on disability, morbidity, and mortality from the Kungsholmen Project. J Clin Epidemiol. 2003;56:669–77. doi:10.1016/S0895-4356(03)00089-1.
Peel NM, Kassulke DJ, McClure RJ. Population based study of hospitalised fall related injuries in older people. Inj Prev. 2002;8:280–3. doi:10.1136/ip.8.4.280.
Manton KG. A longitudinal study of functional change and mortality in the US. J Gerontol. 1988;43:S153–61.
Ensrud KE, Ewing SK, Taylor BC, et al. Frailty and risk of falls, fracture, and mortality in older women: the study of osteoporotic fractures. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2007;62:744–51.
Acknowledgments
We are indebted to J. Roussel, F. Blainville and M. Annoussamy from the Unité de Recherche Clinique (URC) Paris Centre (Cochin-Necker) for the invaluable help provided in the running of the study. We wish to thank all the staff of the emergency department of Cochin, the patients and their families for their participation. The study was funded by The Fondation Caisses d’Epargne pour la solidarité and supported by the French Fondation National de Gérontologie and the Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Paris; they were not involved in the study design, methods, subject recruitment, data collections, analysis and preparation of paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bloch, F., Jegou, D., Dhainaut, JF. et al. Can metabolic abnormalities after a fall predict short term mortality in elderly patients?. Eur J Epidemiol 24, 357–362 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-009-9342-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-009-9342-y