Determining the burden of falls amongst community-dwelling older people in Ireland to inform falls care delivery: secondary data analysis from the Irish longitudinal study on ageing - the defined study.

Abstract

Falls represent the most frequent reason older people are admitted to hospital and significantly increase the likelihood of functional decline, healthcare utilisation and early mortality. The aim of this study is to comprehensively delineate the burden of falls amongst community-dwelling older people in Ireland. Population-representative analysis of Wave 6 of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) estimating incidence of falls requiring medical attention and emergency department (ED) attendance, fractures and fear of falling over 12 months. Additional data detailing falls-risk increasing drugs (FRIDs) and prior falls were also analysed.Using Central Statistics Office Census 2022, the population of older people in Ireland was multiplied by the proportion of TILDA participants with each outcome of interest to yield population-level estimates. Population-representative sample of 2299 (55% female) community-dwelling people in Ireland aged ≥70 years. Almost 12% (proportion 0.12 (95% CI 0.10 to 0.13)) of participants, corresponding to almost 62 000 older people in Ireland, reported a fall requiring medical attention in 12 months, with 6% (proportion 0.06 (95% CI 0.05 to 0.07)), or over 32 000 people, attending ED due to a fall. Over 3% (proportion 0.03 (95% CI 0.03 to 0.04)) reported sustaining a fracture. Almost half of participants reporting a fall requiring medical attention were prescribed FRIDs, and over half had also reported a fall when assessed at the prior wave of the study (ie, 2 years ago). The burden of falls amongst community-dwelling older people is considerable; 1 in 8 required medical attention for a fall and 1 in 16 attended the ED with falls over 12 months.Currently, there is no national falls strategy in Ireland. These findings, alongside our ageing population, underscore the need for strengthened falls-prevention strategies to reduce avoidable morbidity and healthcare utilisation.