Associations between clinical characteristics and mechanism of injury
| Predictors | Fall, no. (%)* n = 62 284 | Other, no. (%)*† n = 5645 | Unadjusted OR (95% CI) | Adjusted‡ OR (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 44 108 (70.8) | 2535 (44.9) | 2.98 (2.82–3.15) | 2.40 (2.27–2.54) |
| Male | 18 176 (29.9) | 3110 (55.1) | Reference | Reference |
| Age category, yr | ||||
| 65–74 | 14 357 (23.1) | 2823 (50.0) | Reference | Reference |
| 75–84 | 25 790 (41.4) | 2205 (39.1) | 2.30 (2.17–2.44) | 2.00 (1.88–2.13) |
| ≥ 85 | 22 137 (35.5) | 617 (10.9) | 7.06 (6.45–7.72) | 5.63 (5.14–6.16) |
| History of alcoholism | ||||
| Yes | 750 (1.2) | 69 (1.2) | 0.99 (0.78–1.26) | 1.63 (1.26–2.10) |
| No | 61 534 (98.8) | 5576 (98.8) | Reference | Reference |
| Prescription of medications§ known to affect balance filled 2 wk before injury | ||||
| Yes | 19 111 (30.7) | 951 (16.8) | 2.19 (2.03–2.35) | 1.80 (1.67–1.94) |
| No | 43 173 (69.3) | 4694 (83.2) | Reference | Reference |
| Falls leading to hospital admission in yr before injury | ||||
| Yes (≥ 1)¶ | 1230 (2.0) | 38 (0.7) | 2.97 (2.15–4.11) | 1.77 (1.27–2.48) |
| No | 61 054 (98.0) | 5607 (99.3) | Reference | Reference |
| Fractures in yr before injury | ||||
| Yes | 4359 (7.0) | 224 (4.0) | 1.82 (1.59–2.09) | 1.38 (1.20–1.59) |
| No | 57 925 (93.0) | 5421 (96.0) | Reference | Reference |
| Diagnosis of malignant tumour in yr before injury | ||||
| Yes | 8946 (14.4) | 813 (14.4) | 1.00 (0.92–1.08) | 1.10 (1.01–1.19) |
| No | 53 338 (85.6) | 4832 (85.6) | Reference | Reference |
| No. of comorbidities, mean ± SD | 0.77 ± 0.84 | 0.68 ± 0.80 | 1.14 (1.10–1.18) | 1.09 (1.05–1.13) |
| Opioid prescription filled within 2 wk before injury | ||||
| Yes | 3041 (4.9) | 85 (1.5) | 3.36 (2.70–4.17) | 2.42 (1.94–3.02) |
| No | 59 243 (95.1) | 5560 (98.5) | Reference | Reference |
Note: CI = confidence interval, OR = odds ratio; SD = standard deviation.
↵* Unless otherwise indicated.
↵† ORs are presented for falls compared with motor vehicle crash and weapons or penetrating injury mechanisms.
↵‡ Adjusted for all variables included in this table.
↵§ Antidepressant, antipsychotic, benzodiazepine, anticholinergic, antithrombotic and cardiovascular drugs.
↵¶ Only 0.2% had 2 or more falls leading to hospital admission in the year before the target injury.