Prospective Association between Socioeconomic Status and Falls among Community-Dwelling Older Men.
Access status:
Open Access
Type
ArticleAuthor/s
Khalatbari-Soltani, SamanFiona, Stanaway
Sherrington, Cathie
Blyth, Fiona
Naganathan, Vasi
Handelsman, David
Seibel, Markus
Waite, Louise
Le Couteur, David
Cumming, Robert
Abstract
Background
Socioeconomic status (SES) has been suggested as a risk factor for falls but the few prospective studies to test this have had mixed results. We evaluated the prospective association between SES and falls in the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project (CHAMP).
Methods
CHAMP ...
See moreBackground Socioeconomic status (SES) has been suggested as a risk factor for falls but the few prospective studies to test this have had mixed results. We evaluated the prospective association between SES and falls in the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project (CHAMP). Methods CHAMP is a population-based prospective cohort study of men aged ≥70 years in Sydney, Australia. Incident falls were ascertained by triannual telephone calls for up to 4 years. SES was assessed with 4 indicators (education, occupation, source of income, home ownership) and cumulative SES score. We tested for interaction between SES indicators and country of birth and conducted stratified analyses. Results We evaluated 1624 men (mean age: 77.3 ± 5.4 years). During a mean ± SD follow-up of 42.6 ± 8.7 months, 766 (47%) participants reported ≥1 incident falls. In nonstratified analyses, there were no associations between SES indicators and falls. In stratified analyses, falls rates were higher among Australian-born men with less formal education (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.66, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.16–2.37, compared with those with more education) and those with low occupational position (1.45; 1.09–1.93). However, among men born in non-main English-speaking countries the rate of falls was lower among those with low educational level and no associations were evident for occupational position. Conclusions Lower educational level and occupational position predicted a higher falls rate in Australian-born men; the opposite relationship was evident for educational level among migrants born in non-main English-speaking countries. Further studies should test these relationships in different populations and settings and evaluate targeted interventions.
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See moreBackground Socioeconomic status (SES) has been suggested as a risk factor for falls but the few prospective studies to test this have had mixed results. We evaluated the prospective association between SES and falls in the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project (CHAMP). Methods CHAMP is a population-based prospective cohort study of men aged ≥70 years in Sydney, Australia. Incident falls were ascertained by triannual telephone calls for up to 4 years. SES was assessed with 4 indicators (education, occupation, source of income, home ownership) and cumulative SES score. We tested for interaction between SES indicators and country of birth and conducted stratified analyses. Results We evaluated 1624 men (mean age: 77.3 ± 5.4 years). During a mean ± SD follow-up of 42.6 ± 8.7 months, 766 (47%) participants reported ≥1 incident falls. In nonstratified analyses, there were no associations between SES indicators and falls. In stratified analyses, falls rates were higher among Australian-born men with less formal education (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.66, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.16–2.37, compared with those with more education) and those with low occupational position (1.45; 1.09–1.93). However, among men born in non-main English-speaking countries the rate of falls was lower among those with low educational level and no associations were evident for occupational position. Conclusions Lower educational level and occupational position predicted a higher falls rate in Australian-born men; the opposite relationship was evident for educational level among migrants born in non-main English-speaking countries. Further studies should test these relationships in different populations and settings and evaluate targeted interventions.
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Date
2021Source title
The Journal of Gerontology: Medical SciencesPublisher
Oxford University PressFunding information
ARC CE170100005Licence
Copyright All Rights ReservedRights statement
This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in The Journals of Gerontology following peer review. The version of record Saman Khalatbari-Soltani, Fiona Stanaway, Cathie Sherrington, Fiona M Blyth, Vasi Naganathan, David J Handelsman, Markus J Seibel, Louise M Waite, David G Le Couteur, Robert G Cumming, The Prospective Association Between Socioeconomic Status and Falls Among Community-Dwelling Older Men, The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 2021;, glab038 is available online at: https://academic.oup.com/biomedgerontology/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/gerona/glab038/6128391Faculty/School
Faculty of Medicine and Health, Sydney School of Public HealthShare