Abstract

Introduction

The increase in the population of older adults has evidenced an important public health problem: falls. They have been a frequent cause of functional loss, early admittance to Long-Term Permanence Institutions and increased morbidity and mortality in older adults¹1. Gama ZAS, Gómez-Conesa A. Factores de riesgo de caídas en ancianos: revisión sistemática. Rev Saúde Pública 2008; 42: 946-56..

Falls are defined as an unexpected, unintentional change in position that causes an individual to remain in a lower level; for example, on the furniture or on the ground. This event does not result from sudden paralysis, epileptic seizure or external forces²2. Kellogg International Work Group on the Prevention of Falls by the Elderly. The prevention of falls in later life. Dan Med Bul 1987; 34: 1-24..

Falls are the sixth cause of death among older adults and are responsible for 70% of the accidental deaths of people aged 75 years or older³3. Pereira SRM, Buksman S, Perracini M, Py L, Barreto KML, Leite VMM. Quedas em Idosos - Projeto Diretrizes. Sociedade Brasileira de Geriatria e Gerontologia; 2001.. In Brazil, 30% of the older adults fall at least once a year. The contribution of falls to mortality increased from 3% to 4.5% in a period of 10 years³3. Pereira SRM, Buksman S, Perracini M, Py L, Barreto KML, Leite VMM. Quedas em Idosos - Projeto Diretrizes. Sociedade Brasileira de Geriatria e Gerontologia; 2001..

Older adults who suffer falls present great functional decline. It has been found that 5% of the falls result in fractures, and between 5% and 10%, in injuries that require medical care⁴4. Fabrício SCC, Rodrigues RAP, Costa Junior MLd. Causas e conseqüências de quedas de idosos atendidos em hospital público. Rev Saúde Pública 2004; 38: 93-9.. In addition, falls cause psychological and social consequences, such as depression, fear of falling again, changes in behavior and attitudes that lead to a reduction in physical and social activities⁵5. Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde - OPAS. Guia Clínica para Atención Primaria a las Personas Mayores . 3aed. Washington: OPAS; 2003..

Falls are multifactorial events with associated intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The intrinsic risk factors include physiological alterations caused by aging, afflictions that are common at this age and the use of medicines⁶6. Onaga JK, D'Elboux DMJ. Quedas em idosos: principais causas e consequências. Ciên Saúde Colet 2007; 4:148-53.. The extrinsic factors, in turn, are the older adults' behavior and activities in relation to their environment⁷7. World Health Organization - WHO. World Health. Organization global report on falls prevention in older age ; 2007.. Places that are dimly lit, unsafe, poorly planned and with architectural barriers are responsible for 30 to 50% of the falls⁷7. World Health Organization - WHO. World Health. Organization global report on falls prevention in older age ; 2007..

The identification, through a population-based study, of the circumstances in which falls occur and their consequences is extremely important, as it allows the populations and individuals that are at risk to be characterized, as well as the implementation of preventive measures to avoid the occurrence of new falls. This knowledge can contribute to the creation of programs that meet the older adults' needs and support policy-making⁸8. Pereira C, Vogelaere P, Baptista Ft. Role of physical activity in the prevention of falls and their consequences in the elderly. Eur Rev Aging Phys Act 2008; 5: 51-8..

The aim of this study was to investigate the circumstances and consequences of falls, as well as the factors associated with limitations to the performance of activities after these falls, among older adults living in the city of Florianópolis, state of Santa Catarina (Southern Brazil).

Methods

This study was based on a cross-sectional, population-based household survey entitled “ Epi Floripa Idoso”, which was carried out in 2009. It was developed in the urban zone of the city of Florianópolis, the capital city of the state of Santa Catarina, located in the Southern region of Brazil. Florianópolis' population was estimated at 408,161 inhabitants in 2009, of which 44,460 were older adults⁹9. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística - IBGE. Estimativas populacionais para o TCU. Estimativas da população para 1° de julho de 2009. Disponível em http://www.ibge.gov.br /home/estatistica/populacao/estimativa2009/POP2009_DOU.pdf (Acessado em fevereiro de 2010).
http://www.ibge.gov.br /home/estatistica... , totaling 10.8% of the population. It is the Brazilian capital city that has the best human development index: 0.875¹⁰10. Programa das Nações Unidas - PNUD. Atlas do Desenvolvimento Humano no Brasil. 2000 . Disponível em http://www.pnud.org.br/atlas/ (Acessado em maio de 2010).
http://www.pnud.org.br/atlas/... .

The reference population of the “ Epi Floripa Idoso” study was constituted of older adults of both sexes, belonging to the age group of 60 years or older, completed in the year of the research. To define sample size, the prevalence calculation formula was used, for simple random samplins, multiplied by 2 (value related to the design effect estimated for two-stage cluster sampling), plus 20% for losses, and 15% for association studies. The Epi-Info program was utilized, version 6.04 in public domain, and the parameters were: population size equal to 44,460 older adults, unknown prevalence of the outcome (50%), level of confidence of 95%, and sampling error equal to 4 percentage points, resulting in a desirable sample size of at least 1,599 older adults.

Two-stage cluster sampling was carried out. At the first stage, all the 420 urban census tracts of the city were put in ascending order, according to the income of the head of the family, and 80 tracts were systematically drawn (eight in each income decile).

The second-stage units were the households. It was necessary to update the number of households in each tract (enrollment), as the most recent Census had been performed in 2000. The study's supervisors visited the selected census tracts and counted all the inhabited households, complying with the norms of the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE – Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics). The number of households ranged from 61 to 725.

To reduce the coefficient of variation of the number of households per tract, tracts with less than 150 households were grouped and tracts with more than 500 households were divided, respecting the corresponding income decile, which produced 83 census tracts. The initial coefficient of variation was 52.7% (n = 80 tracts) and the final one was 35.2% (n = 83 tracts).

According to the IBGE (2000), the average number of inhabitants per household was, at the time, 3.1. As the age group of interest to the research corresponds to approximately 11% of the population, an average of 102 people was obtained per census tract, or one older adult per every three households. Therefore, approximately 60 households per census tract should be visited in order to find the 20 older adults. These households were systematically drawn and all the older adults living in the selected households were interviewed.

Older adults who were institutionalized (Long-Term Permanence Institutions or hospitals) were not included in the study. In the “ Epi Floripa Idoso” study, the older adults who were not found after four visits, including one on the weekend and another in the evening, were considered losses, and refusals were considered when the person refused to answer the questionnaire.

Data collection was performed between September 2009 and June 2010. All the variables of the “ Epi Floripa Idoso” study were collected by means of a standardized, pre-tested questionnaire, using Personal Digital Assistants (PDA). The interviews were performed by 20 interviewers who had completed secondary education. All the interviewers were trained by the survey supervisors, who were postgraduate students that also supervised the fieldwork.

A pilot study was conducted with 99 older adults living in tracts that were not sampled for the research. Data consistency was verified on a weekly basis, and quality control was applied to 10% of the interviews, randomly selected, by means of a reduced questionnaire that was administered by telephone.

All the older adults who answered “yes” to the question “Did you suffer any falls during the last year?” were selected for a detailed interview about their fall.

For this investigation, a structured questionnaire containing 21 questions was developed, tested, and subsequently submitted to the process of validation of content and clarity. A 97% validity index was obtained for content and a 100% validity index was obtained for clarity.

The investigation of falls was developed simultaneously with the weekly download of the interviews of the “ Epi Floripa Idoso” survey. The older adults were contacted through telephone calls or, in case they did not own a telephone, by means of a home visit, to answer the questionnaire about falls. The interviews, both by telephone and at home, were performed by three trained interviewers. The same procedure was followed in the interviews performed by telephone and at home.

With regard to the investigation of falls, the older adults who were not contacted after five calls, made on distinct days and at distinct times and followed by two home visits, were considered losses, as were those who refused to participate. If the older adults were not in condition to answer the interview, it was answered by an informant/caregiver, and in these cases the question about fear of falling again was not asked.

Falls caused by fainting, strokes, seizures and other similar conditions were not considered; therefore, three reports were excluded. Concerning the question about consequences of falls, when more than one type of injury was mentioned, the most severe one was selected, according to the interviewee's perception. When the interviewees answered the question about having more difficulty to perform activities after falling affirmatively, it was possible to check more than one alternative, and all the options were considered for the results.

The information about the number of falls in the 12 months that preceded the survey (one, from two to five, or more than five falls), sex, age in full years, self-reported ethnicity, marital status (married/cohabiting, single, divorced/separated, or widowed), level of schooling in full years of study and per capita income, were extracted from the questionnaire of the “ Epi Floripa Idoso” study.

The dependent variable of this study was limitation to perform activities after a fall (yes/no). The following covariates were tested in an exploratory way: sex, age (60 to 69 years; 70 to 79 years; 80 years or older), marital status (married/cohabiting; no partner), level of schooling in full years of study (≤ 4 years; ≥ 5 years), per capita income divided in tertiles (level one ≤ R$ 450.00; level two from R$ 450.01 to R$ 1,125.00; level three ≥ R$ 1,125.01)* , time spent on the ground (≤ one minute; 2 to 14 minutes; ≥ 15 minutes), occurrence of fracture due to a fall (yes; no), loss of consciousness (yes; no), number of falls (1 fall; 2 to 5 falls; 6 or more falls) and fear of falling again (yes; no).

The descriptive statistics used were: mean, standard deviation (SD), median, absolute and relative frequency, and confidence intervals (CI) of 95%. To test the association between the outcome “limitation to perform activities after the fall” and the covariates, bivariate and multiple analysis with binary logistic regression were conducted, considering a level of significance of 95%. The variables that presented a p-value < 0.20 in the crude analysis were selected for the multiple model, remaining in the model if they reached p < 0.05 and/or if they adjusted to the model. The statistical analysis was performed in the Stata software (Stata Corp., College Station, United States) 9.0, with the “svy” command for complex sampling.

The project was submitted to the Ethics Committee for Research with Human Beings of the Federal University of Santa Catarina, and it was approved on 12/23/2008 under number 352/2008. All the interviewees signed an informed consent form to be interviewed. The authors of the manuscript stated that there were no conflicts of interest.

Results

Overall, 1,705 older adults participated in the “ Epi Floripa Idoso” study (616 men and 1,089 women), and their mean age was 70.7 years (SD = 8, median of 69 years, maximum of 104 years). In the selected households, 1,911 eligible older adults were found, which resulted in a response rate of 89.2%. The reproducibility of the questions used in quality control was considered satisfactory, with kappa values between 0.6 and 0.9 for selected variables, such as diabetes, number of teeth, smoking, healthcare plan and self-reported ethnicity.

Among the interviewed individuals, 322 reported that they had suffered a fall during the previous year (88 men and 234 women), which is equivalent to a prevalence of 19% for the total group, 14.3% for men and 21.5% for women.

Among the older adults who had suffered falls (n = 322), 304 answered the questionnaire about falls, corresponding to a response rate of 94.4%, equivalent between sexes. The majority of the interviews about falls was performed by telephone (287; 94.4%), and a small number through home visits (17; 5.6%).

The mean age of the group who reported falls was 72.5 years (SD = 8.2, median of 73 years), and it was similar between sexes. The mean level of schooling was 6.7 years (SD = 5.4, median of 5.0 years of study), and the major part of the interviewees reported they were white (85.2%), followed by mixed (7.9%), black (5.3%), indigenous (1.3%) and Asian individuals (0.3%). The median of the per capita income was R$ 583.75 (mean of R$ 1,075.28). With regard to marital status, there was a predominance of married individuals (53.4%), followed by widowed (34.5%), divorced/separated (7.4%) and single individuals (4.7%), (data not presented).

The majority of the older adults reported only one fall in the 12 months that preceded the survey, which occurred during the morning, while they were walking inside the home, in the bedroom, and the majority needed help to stand up and remained on the ground for one minute, at the most ( Table 1 ).

The main circumstances of falls were stumbling and slipping. As many factors contributed to the occurrence of falls, the major part of the older adults reported other 37 factors (lack of attention, occupied hands, being in a hurry, among others), followed by irregularities in the ground ( Table 1 ).

Almost all the participants reported that they were feeling well on the day of their fall and that they had not consumed alcoholic beverages. Additionally, they mentioned no alterations in the regular pattern of medication use, such as inclusion of a new medicine, interruption in the continuous use of a medicine or self-medication ( Table 1 ).

Table 2 shows that, for the majority of the older adults, falls caused injuries, and the most frequently reported one was abrasion/scratch. The majority of them did not lose consciousness at the moment of the fall, nor did they need medical assistance on the scene. The major part did not look for medical assistance after their fall and did not modify their medication.

One fourth of the older adults restricted the performance of activities of daily living due to their fall. More than half of them answered that they were afraid of falling again. When asked about limitations to perform some activity after their fall, the majority answered negatively. Among the affirmative answers, the most frequently reported one was walking outside the home. It is important to highlight that it was possible to check more than one answer to this question ( Table 2 ).

Among the factors associated in an independent way with limitations to perform activities of daily living after a fall, identified in the bivariate analysis, the chance of remaining on the ground for 15 minutes or more was higher (p = 0.002; OR = 4.61; 95%CI = 1.84; 11.57), in the same way that there was a higher chance of loss of consciousness (p = 0.007; OR = 5.54; 95%CI = 1.61; 19.09), of having suffered fracture due to a fall (p < 0.001; OR = 5.45; 95%CI = 2.48; 11.95) and of mentioning fear of new falls (p = 0.03; OR = 2.11; 95%CI = 1.10; 4.07) ( Table 3 ).

In the adjusted analysis, the only variable that remained associated was fracture due to a fall (p = 0.003; OR = 4.24; 95%CI = 1.66; 10.87) ( Table 4 ).

Discussion

The prevalence of falls found in this study was 19%, lower than the one reported by the Brazilian Ministry of Health¹¹11. Ministério da Saúde. Envelhecimento e Saúde da Pessoa Idosa. Série A. Normas e Manuais Técnicos. Cadernos de Atenção Básica; 2007.in 2007 for the Brazilian population of older adults (30%); it was also lower compared to what has been found in other national^{12, 13}and international studies¹⁴14. Leveille SG, Kiel DP, Jones RN, Roman A, Hannan MT, Sorond FA et al. The MOBILIZE Boston Study: design and methods of a prospective cohort study of novel risk factors for falls in an older population. BMC Geriatr 2008; 8:16.

15. Li W, Keegan TH, Sternfeld B, Sidney S, Quesenberry CP, Jr., Kelsey JL. Outdoor falls among middle-aged and older adults: a neglected public health problem. Am J Public Health 2006; 96: 1192-200. ^{- 16}16. Reyes-Ortiz CA, Al Snih S, Markides KS. Falls among elderly persons in Latin America and the Caribbean and among elderly Mexican-Americans. Rev Panam Salud Publica 2005; 17: 362-9.. In 2002, a population-based survey¹⁷17. Benedetti TRB, Binotto MA, Petroski EL, Gonçalves LHT. Atividade física e prevalência de quedas em idosos residentes no sul do Brasil. Rev Bras Geriatr Gerontol 2008; 11: 145-54.was carried out in the city of Florianópolis and it also found a low prevalence of falls (11.4%); however, this survey analyzed only the three previous months. What might explain the lower prevalence in comparison to that of other studies is the fact that Florianópolis is the Brazilian capital city that has the best human development index, which implies greater access to health services, more information about healthy habits and, consequently, knowledge about risks of falls.

The prevalence of falls in women was 21.5%, while in men it was 14.3%. Studies¹1. Gama ZAS, Gómez-Conesa A. Factores de riesgo de caídas en ancianos: revisión sistemática. Rev Saúde Pública 2008; 42: 946-56. ^{, 7}7. World Health Organization - WHO. World Health. Organization global report on falls prevention in older age ; 2007. ^{, 16}16. Reyes-Ortiz CA, Al Snih S, Markides KS. Falls among elderly persons in Latin America and the Caribbean and among elderly Mexican-Americans. Rev Panam Salud Publica 2005; 17: 362-9. ^{, 18}18. Siqueira FV, Facchini LA, Piccini RX, Tomasi E, Thumé E, Silveira DS et al. Prevalência de quedas em idosos e fatores associados. Rev Saúde Pública 2007; 41: 749-56. ^{, 19}19. Pinheiro MdM, Ciconelli RM, Martini LA, Ferraz MB. Risk factors for recurrent falls among Brazilian women and men: the Brazilian Osteoporosis Study (BRAZOS). Cad Saúde Pública 2010; 26: 89-96.have shown that more women suffer falls than men. This may occur due to the women's greater physical vulnerability, lower amount of lean mass and of muscular strength compared to men of the same age¹²12. Perracini MR, Ramos LR. Fatores associados a quedas em uma coorte de idosos residentes na comunidade. Rev Saúde Pública 2002; 36: 709-16., and their greater involvement in domestic activities¹⁷17. Benedetti TRB, Binotto MA, Petroski EL, Gonçalves LHT. Atividade física e prevalência de quedas em idosos residentes no sul do Brasil. Rev Bras Geriatr Gerontol 2008; 11: 145-54..

The majority of falls occurred in the morning, as observed in other investigations²⁰20. Álvares LM, Lima RdC, Silva RAd. Ocorrência de quedas em idosos residentes em instituições de longa permanência em Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Cad Saúde Pública 2010; 26: 31-40.

21. Carvalho AdM, Coutinho EdSF. Demência como fator de risco para fraturas graves em idosos. Rev Saúde Pública 2002; 36: 448-54. ^{- 22}22. Coutinho ESF, Bloch KV, Rodrigues LC. Characteristics and circumstances of falls leading to severe fractures in elderly people in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Cad Saúde Pública 2009; 25: 455-9.. The likely reason is that older adults normally perform daily tasks, such as domestic activities, going to the market and the bakery, in this period of the day.

Studies have identified that a higher number of falls tend to occur inside the home^4,21-23due to irregularities in the ground⁴4. Fabrício SCC, Rodrigues RAP, Costa Junior MLd. Causas e conseqüências de quedas de idosos atendidos em hospital público. Rev Saúde Pública 2004; 38: 93-9. ^{, 15}15. Li W, Keegan TH, Sternfeld B, Sidney S, Quesenberry CP, Jr., Kelsey JL. Outdoor falls among middle-aged and older adults: a neglected public health problem. Am J Public Health 2006; 96: 1192-200. ^{, 24}24. Guimarães JMN, Farinatti PdTV. Análise descritiva de variáveis teoricamente associadas ao risco de quedas em mulheres idosas. Rev Bras Med Esporte 2005; 11: 299-305., as observed in the present study. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), unsafe, dimly lit, poorly planned environments with architectural barriers are the most common causes of falls among older adults, responsible for 30 to 50% of them⁷. Therefore, these data are extremely useful to the planning of preventive measures against falls among older adults.

In the majority of cases, the older adults do not fall because they are performing dangerous activities (climbing up stairs or chairs); rather, this occurs when they perform daily activities such as moving⁴4. Fabrício SCC, Rodrigues RAP, Costa Junior MLd. Causas e conseqüências de quedas de idosos atendidos em hospital público. Rev Saúde Pública 2004; 38: 93-9.. This fact was verified in the present study, as the major part of the older adults fell while they were walking and performing activities of daily living, thus corroborating other investigations¹⁵15. Li W, Keegan TH, Sternfeld B, Sidney S, Quesenberry CP, Jr., Kelsey JL. Outdoor falls among middle-aged and older adults: a neglected public health problem. Am J Public Health 2006; 96: 1192-200. ^{, 22}22. Coutinho ESF, Bloch KV, Rodrigues LC. Characteristics and circumstances of falls leading to severe fractures in elderly people in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Cad Saúde Pública 2009; 25: 455-9..

The aging process brings changes to the individuals' pace, caused by a decrease in flexibility and mobility of hips and knees, limitation of the amplitude of ankle dorsiflexion and decrease in strength. Such limitations increase the possibility of stumbling²⁴. These changes may justify stumbling or slipping as the main circumstances of falls in this study and also in other investigations¹⁵15. Li W, Keegan TH, Sternfeld B, Sidney S, Quesenberry CP, Jr., Kelsey JL. Outdoor falls among middle-aged and older adults: a neglected public health problem. Am J Public Health 2006; 96: 1192-200. ^{, 24}24. Guimarães JMN, Farinatti PdTV. Análise descritiva de variáveis teoricamente associadas ao risco de quedas em mulheres idosas. Rev Bras Med Esporte 2005; 11: 299-305..

The majority of the older adults reported they needed help standing up and that they were feeling well at the moment of the fall, results that were similar to those of another study²⁴24. Guimarães JMN, Farinatti PdTV. Análise descritiva de variáveis teoricamente associadas ao risco de quedas em mulheres idosas. Rev Bras Med Esporte 2005; 11: 299-305..

The present investigation found few reports of alcohol consumption on the day of the fall. Alcohol consumption seems not to be the cause of the falls, as in the study by Guimarães and Farinatti²⁴24. Guimarães JMN, Farinatti PdTV. Análise descritiva de variáveis teoricamente associadas ao risco de quedas em mulheres idosas. Rev Bras Med Esporte 2005; 11: 299-305., few cases of falls due to the use of alcohol were reported.

Few older adults reported, in the week of the fall, to have altered the habitual pattern of medication use (including new medicine, interruption in the use of medicines or self-medication). No studies were found about falls and alterations in the routine pattern of medication use, but many investigations³3. Pereira SRM, Buksman S, Perracini M, Py L, Barreto KML, Leite VMM. Quedas em Idosos - Projeto Diretrizes. Sociedade Brasileira de Geriatria e Gerontologia; 2001. ^{, 4}4. Fabrício SCC, Rodrigues RAP, Costa Junior MLd. Causas e conseqüências de quedas de idosos atendidos em hospital público. Rev Saúde Pública 2004; 38: 93-9. ^{, 7}7. World Health Organization - WHO. World Health. Organization global report on falls prevention in older age ; 2007. ^{, 19}19. Pinheiro MdM, Ciconelli RM, Martini LA, Ferraz MB. Risk factors for recurrent falls among Brazilian women and men: the Brazilian Osteoporosis Study (BRAZOS). Cad Saúde Pública 2010; 26: 89-96.associate the use of medication with falls, a fact that needs to be further studied.

Among the majority of the older adults, falls resulted in abrasion/scratch; however, fractures were the main consequence reported in other investigations⁴4. Fabrício SCC, Rodrigues RAP, Costa Junior MLd. Causas e conseqüências de quedas de idosos atendidos em hospital público. Rev Saúde Pública 2004; 38: 93-9. ^{, 18}18. Siqueira FV, Facchini LA, Piccini RX, Tomasi E, Thumé E, Silveira DS et al. Prevalência de quedas em idosos e fatores associados. Rev Saúde Pública 2007; 41: 749-56. ^{, 22}22. Coutinho ESF, Bloch KV, Rodrigues LC. Characteristics and circumstances of falls leading to severe fractures in elderly people in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Cad Saúde Pública 2009; 25: 455-9.. Nevertheless, it is important to highlight that, although fractures were not the main consequence here, the observed percentage was 13%, higher than the one mentioned by the Brazilian Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology³, which reports that 4% of falls result in fractures. In other studies²³23. Ribeiro AP, de Souza ER, Atie S, de Souza AC, Schilithz AO. A influência das quedas na qualidade de vida de idosos. Cien Saúde Colet 2008; 13: 1265-73. ^{, 24}24. Guimarães JMN, Farinatti PdTV. Análise descritiva de variáveis teoricamente associadas ao risco de quedas em mulheres idosas. Rev Bras Med Esporte 2005; 11: 299-305., the majority of the older adults did not need medical assistance on the scene nor after the fall, which was also observed in the present study. This may be related to the type of injury resulting from the fall.

Among the investigated older adults, the majority did not restrict their daily activities temporarily and did not notice limitations in the performance of activities of daily living after their fall; in addition, it seems that there were not sequelae caused by these falls. Among those who did mention limitations, the most frequently reported one was walking outside the home. In the study conducted by Fabrício et al.⁴4. Fabrício SCC, Rodrigues RAP, Costa Junior MLd. Causas e conseqüências de quedas de idosos atendidos em hospital público. Rev Saúde Pública 2004; 38: 93-9., the activity that needed the greatest dependence on third parties after a fall was walking on a flat surface.

The older adults who reported limitations to perform daily activities due to their fall presented a higher chance of having remained on the ground for 15 minutes or more after their fall, experienced loss of consciousness, suffered fractures, being afraid of falling again, and the fall having resulted in injuries. This makes it clear that severe falls end up limiting the basic activities of the older adults, causing, apart from physical damage, psychological consequences, a fact that has also been confirmed by other studies⁴4. Fabrício SCC, Rodrigues RAP, Costa Junior MLd. Causas e conseqüências de quedas de idosos atendidos em hospital público. Rev Saúde Pública 2004; 38: 93-9. ^{, 5}5. Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde - OPAS. Guia Clínica para Atención Primaria a las Personas Mayores . 3aed. Washington: OPAS; 2003. ^{, 7}7. World Health Organization - WHO. World Health. Organization global report on falls prevention in older age ; 2007..

When the older adults fall, there is a tendency to reduce their daily activities, either because they are afraid of exposing themselves to the risk of falls, or because of protective attitudes of society and relatives/caregivers⁷7. World Health Organization - WHO. World Health. Organization global report on falls prevention in older age ; 2007., who restrict the participation of older adults in small activities, such as drying the dishes, sweeping the house, dressing up, and putting on shoes.

The reduction in the activities of daily living or the need of help to perform them may cause immobility and, consequently, muscle atrophy, which facilitates the recurrence of falls. Furthermore, the incapacity to perform these activities may have consequences for the older adults' relatives, who need to mobilize themselves to support their treatment and recovery⁴4. Fabrício SCC, Rodrigues RAP, Costa Junior MLd. Causas e conseqüências de quedas de idosos atendidos em hospital público. Rev Saúde Pública 2004; 38: 93-9..

In this investigation, many older adults reported being afraid of falling again, which corroborates other studies¹⁹19. Pinheiro MdM, Ciconelli RM, Martini LA, Ferraz MB. Risk factors for recurrent falls among Brazilian women and men: the Brazilian Osteoporosis Study (BRAZOS). Cad Saúde Pública 2010; 26: 89-96. ^{, 23}23. Ribeiro AP, de Souza ER, Atie S, de Souza AC, Schilithz AO. A influência das quedas na qualidade de vida de idosos. Cien Saúde Colet 2008; 13: 1265-73. ^{, 25}25. Iglesias CP, Manca A, Torgerson DJ. The health-related quality of life and cost implications of falls in elderly women. Osteoporos Int 2009; 20: 869-78.. The fear of falling can be triggered both by physical consequences and by psychological and social ones, and it may cause less confidence in one's capacity to walk, contributing to functional decline, depression, feelings of abandonment and social isolation⁵5. Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde - OPAS. Guia Clínica para Atención Primaria a las Personas Mayores . 3aed. Washington: OPAS; 2003..

The prevention of falls among older adults should be a public health concern, as changes that are relatively easy to be implemented, such as avoiding loose rugs, objects and irregularities on the ground, may substantially reduce the risk of falls¹⁵15. Li W, Keegan TH, Sternfeld B, Sidney S, Quesenberry CP, Jr., Kelsey JL. Outdoor falls among middle-aged and older adults: a neglected public health problem. Am J Public Health 2006; 96: 1192-200.. Strategies based on health policies aimed to improve/maintain the older adults' functional ability should consider programs of physical exercises that contribute positively to the prevention of falls³3. Pereira SRM, Buksman S, Perracini M, Py L, Barreto KML, Leite VMM. Quedas em Idosos - Projeto Diretrizes. Sociedade Brasileira de Geriatria e Gerontologia; 2001. ^{, 7}7. World Health Organization - WHO. World Health. Organization global report on falls prevention in older age ; 2007. ^{, 17}17. Benedetti TRB, Binotto MA, Petroski EL, Gonçalves LHT. Atividade física e prevalência de quedas em idosos residentes no sul do Brasil. Rev Bras Geriatr Gerontol 2008; 11: 145-54..

To achieve this, it is necessary to qualify primary healthcare professionals in order to prevent falls in the home environment and at other places. In addition, older adults should be instructed to report falls, in view of the fact that only falls with severe consequences are informed to health professionals and relatives, hindering the implementation of preventive actions against new falls.

The main limitations of this study were: (a) a possible memory bias, considering the report of falls during the previous year; (b) the fact that information on individual factors was not collected, such as changes in pace, muscular strength, balance, etc. – these factors may have contributed to the occurrence of falls, as well as the investigation of some previous diseases, such as osteoporosis, which was not verified in this study. Additionally, the lower number of severe consequences may have occurred due to the non-participation of hospitalized older adults. On the other hand, the response rate and the coefficients of reproducibility are positive points.

The results of this study allow us to conclude that the prevalence of falls in women is higher than in men, the majority of the falls occurred in the morning, inside the home, specifically in the bedroom, while the older adults move around to perform their daily activities, and as a result of stumbling. Approximately one third of the falls resulted in abrasion/scratches, without the need of medical assistance neither at the moment of the fall nor a posteriori , and with no need of restricting the normal daily activities. However, despite the low magnitude consequences, more than half of the older adults mentioned fear of falling again. Falls in which the older adults remained on the ground for a longer time, causing fractures and loss of consciousness and triggering the fear of falling again, were significantly associated with limitations of daily activities.

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