Risk factors associated with falls in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes

Abstract

Aims: This study investigated risk factors of falls in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Methods: A total of 211 patients aged ≧60years (168 diabetic patients and 43 non-diabetic control subjects) were studied. Factors associated with falls in the past year were retrospectively examined using multiple logistic regression analysis.

Results: The prevalence of patients who had a history of falls in the past year was twice as high as in diabetic patients compared in control subjects (36.9% vs. 18.6%, P<0.05). When diabetic patients were exclusively analyzed, the presence of any level of hypoglycemia and the Timed Up and Go test (TUG) scores correlated with patients' falls. The presence of hypoglycemia (OR 3.62, 95% CI: 1.242-10.534, P=0.018), cognitive impairment (OR 3.63, 95% CI: 1.227-10.727, P=0.020), and high Fall Risk Index scores (OR 1.2, 95% CI: 1.010-1.425, P=0.039) was independently correlated with the presence of multiple falls. When the diabetic patients were divided into three groups according to the frequency of hypoglycemia episodes, the prevalence of falls increased as the frequency of hypoglycemia increased.

Conclusion: Hypoglycemia was a risk factor of falls in elderly type 2 diabetic patients.

Keywords: Elderly type 2 diabetes; Falls; Frailty; Hypoglycemia; Impaired balance; Sarcopenia.