RESEARCH - Incidence of falls and fear of falling in Japanese patients with RA

[Guest guest]

Mod Rheumatol. 2011 Feb;21(1):51-6. Epub 2010 Sep 15.

Incidence of falls and fear of falling in Japanese patients with

rheumatoid arthritis.

Yamagiwa K, Iijima S, Furuya T, Ikai T, Inoue E, Taniguchi A, Momohara

S, Yamanaka H.

Institute of Rheumatology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 10-22

Kawada-cho, Shinjyuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-0054, Japan.

Abstract

The objective of this study is to determine the incidence of falls and

fear of falling by gender and age in Japanese patients with rheumatoid

arthritis (RA). Among the Japanese patients who participated in a

single-institute-based prospective observational cohort study of

patients with RA, namely the Institute of Rheumatology Rheumatoid

Arthritis, 765 men (median age 63 years) and 4,231 women (median age

60 years) with RA responded to questions related to falls. Eight

percent of men and 11% of women reported one or more falls during the

previous 6 months. At least one fall and multiple falls were

significantly more frequent in men (p < 0.05) and in women (p < 0.001)

with RA over age 65 and age 75 years, respectively, although there was

no significant linear increase in risk with age. Sixteen percent of

men and 22% of women reported fear of falling. More men over age 65

tended to report fear of falling than those under age 65 (p < 0.001),

although the incidence of women with fear of falling increased with

advancing age. Japanese patients with RA over age 65 and age 75

appeared to have a high risk of at least one fall and multiple falls,

respectively.

PMID: 20842405

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20842405

Not an MD