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What are the Major Risk Factors for Falls Among Community-Dwelling Korean Older Women?

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Advances in Physical Ergonomics and Human Factors (AHFE 2017)

Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 602))

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Abstract

Falls are a major cause of death and disability in older people. This study aims to examine the prevalence of falls and associated major risk factors among community-dwelling Korean older women. Total 189 subjects participated in this study. Their fall history and 18 fall-risk related variables covering demographic information, physical performance, gait ability, body strength, and cognitive performance were collected. Results showed that 39.7% of participants had fall experience, 40% of fallers were injured. Five major categories of risk factors were identified from factor analysis: impaired balance and mobility, large body mass but weak grip strength, poor cognitive function, limited joint flexibility, and weak lower limb strength. Logistics regression further showed that poor cognitive function is the most critical fall risk factor. These findings could not only provide guidelines on choosing/developing appropriate fall risk assessment tools, but also help prioritize effective interventions to prevent the falls for Korean older women.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by basic science research program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2011-0022185; NRF-2014R1A1A2056193).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea

    Taekyoung Kim & Shuping Xiong

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  1. Taekyoung Kim
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  2. Shuping Xiong
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Correspondence to Shuping Xiong .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of IELM, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong

    Ravindra S. Goonetilleke

  2. Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, USA

    Waldemar Karwowski

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Kim, T., Xiong, S. (2018). What are the Major Risk Factors for Falls Among Community-Dwelling Korean Older Women?. In: Goonetilleke, R., Karwowski, W. (eds) Advances in Physical Ergonomics and Human Factors. AHFE 2017. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 602. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60825-9_34

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60825-9_34

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