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. 2017 Oct;29(7):1235-1250.
doi: 10.1177/0898264316660412. Epub 2016 Jul 27.

Obesity and Falls in a Prospective Study of Older Men: The Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study

Elizabeth R Hooker  1 , Smriti Shrestha  1   2 , Christine G Lee  3 , Peggy M Cawthon  4   5 , Melanie Abrahamson  1 , Kris Ensrud  6 , Marcia L Stefanick  7 , Thuy-Tien Dam  8 , Lynn M Marshall  1 , Eric S Orwoll  1 , Carrie M Nielson  1 ; Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) Study
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Obesity and Falls in a Prospective Study of Older Men: The Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study

Elizabeth R Hooker et al. J Aging Health. 2017 Oct.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate fall rates across body mass index (BMI) categories by age group, considering physical performance and comorbidities.

Method: In the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) study, 5,834 men aged ≥65 reported falls every 4 months over 4.8 (±0.8) years. Adjusted associations between BMI and an incident fall were tested using mixed-effects models.

Results: The fall rate (0.66/man-year overall, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.65, 0.67]) was lowest in the youngest, normal weight men (0.44/man-year, 95% CI = [0.41, 0.47]) and greatest in the oldest, highest BMI men (1.47 falls/man-year, 95% CI = [1.22, 1.76]). Obesity was associated with a 24% to 92% increased fall risk in men below 80 ( ptrend ≤ .0001, p for interaction by age = .03). Only adjustment for dynamic balance test altered the BMI-falls association substantially.

Discussion: Obesity was independently associated with higher fall rates in men 65 to 80 years old. Narrow walk time, a measure of gait stability, may mediate the association.

Keywords: BMI; falls; obesity.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Fall rate by age and BMI among older men (n = 5,834). Note. BMI = body mass index.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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