Abstract
Background: small, retrospective studies suggest that major life events and/or sudden emotional stress may increase fall and fracture risk. The current study examines these associations prospectively. Methods: a total of 5,152 men aged ≥65 years in the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men study self-reported data on stressful life events for 1 year prior to study Visit 2. Incident falls and fractures were ascertained for 1 year after Visit 2. Fractures were centrally confirmed. Results: a total of 2,932 (56.9%) men reported ≥1 type of stressful life event. In men with complete stressful life event, fall and covariate data (n = 3,949), any stressful life event was associated with a 33% increased risk of incident fall [relative risk (RR) 1.33, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.19-1.49] and 68% increased risk of multiple falls (RR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.40-2.01) in the year following Visit 2 after adjustment for age, education, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, stroke, instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) impairment, chair stand time, walk speed, multiple past falls, depressive symptoms and antidepressant use. Risk increased with the number of types of stressful life events. Though any stressful life event was associated with a 58% increased age-adjusted risk for incident fracture, this association was attenuated and no longer statistically significant after additional adjustment for total hip bone mineral density, fracture after age 50, Parkinson's disease, stroke and IADL impairment. Conclusions: in this cohort of older men, stressful life events significantly increased risk of incident falls independent of other explanatory variables, but did not independently increase incident fracture risk.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | aft117 |
| Pages (from-to) | 103-108 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Age and Ageing |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 2014 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the National Institute on Aging, the National Center for Research Resources, and the National Institutes of Health Roadmap for Medical Research under the following grant numbers: U01 AR45580, U01 AR45614, U01 AR45632, U01 AR45647, U01 AR45654, U01 AR45583, U01 AG18197, U01-AG027810, and UL1 RR024140. The funding agencies had no direct role in the conduct of the study; the collection, management, analyses and interpretation of the data; or preparation or approval of the manuscript.
Keywords
- Accidental falls
- Aged
- Fractures
- Life change events
- Male
- Men
- Older people
- Prospective studies
- Psychological stress
