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Depressive symptoms are independently associated with recurrent falls in community-dwelling older adults

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 April 2014

Sébastien Grenier ,
Marie-Christine Payette ,
Francis Langlois ,
Thien Tuong Minh Vu  and
Louis Bherer
Sébastien Grenier*
Affiliation:
Centre de recherche, Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM), Montréal, Québec, Canada
Marie-Christine Payette
Affiliation:
Centre de recherche, Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM), Montréal, Québec, Canada Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Montréal, Québec, Canada
Francis Langlois
Affiliation:
Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Sherbrooke (IUGS), Montréal, Québec, Canada Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (IUGM), Montréal, Québec, Canada
Thien Tuong Minh Vu
Affiliation:
Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (IUGM), Montréal, Québec, Canada Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM), Montréal, Québec, Canada
Louis Bherer
Affiliation:
Centre de recherche, Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM), Montréal, Québec, Canada PERFORM Centre, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Dr. Sébastien Grenier, Centre de recherche, Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM), 4565, Queen-Mary Road, Montréal (Québec) H3W 1W5, Canada. Phone: +1-514-340-3540, Ext. 4782; Fax: +1-514-340-2801. Email: grenier.sebastien@uqam.ca.
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Abstract

Background:

Falls and depression are two major public health problems that affect millions of older people each year. Several factors associated with falls are also related to depressive symptoms such as medical conditions, sleep quality, use of medications, cognitive functioning, and physical capacities. To date, studies that investigated the association between falls and depressive symptoms did not control for all these shared factors. The current study addresses this issue by examining the relationship between falls and depression symptoms after controlling for several confounders.

Methods:

Eighty-two community-dwelling older adults were enrolled in this study. The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-30) was used to evaluate the presence of depressive symptoms, and the following question was used to assess falls: “Did you fall in the last 12 months, and if so, how many times?”

Results:

Univariate analyses indicated that the number of falls was significantly correlated with gender (women), fractures, asthma, physical inactivity, presence of depressive symptoms, complaints about quality of sleep, use of antidepressant drugs, and low functional capacities. Multivariate analyses revealed that depressive symptoms were significantly and independently linked to recurrent falls after controlling for confounders.

Conclusions:

Results of the present study highlight the importance of assessing depressive symptoms during a fall risk assessment.

Keywords

older adultsdepressive symptomsrecurrent fallssleep qualitycognitive functioningphysical capacities
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 26 , Issue 9 , September 2014 , pp. 1511 - 1519
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2014 

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