Physical Activity and Falls Among a National Cohort of Older Veterans.

ABSTRACT: The more than 20 million U.S. veterans have a history of physical activity engagement but face increasing disability as they age. Falls are common among older adults, but there is little evidence on veterans' fall risk. We conducted a retrospective cohort study using 48,643 observations from 14,831 older (≥65 years) Americans from the 2006-2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. Veterans reported more noninjurious falls (26.6% vs. 24.0%, p < .002), but fewer fall-related injuries (8.9% vs. 12.3%, p < .001) than nonveterans. In adjusted analyses, for each 5-year increase in age, the odds of a noninjurious fall were greater for veterans (odds ratio [OR] = 1.05, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.01, 1.10]) and, among those with regular physical activity, the odds were low

SUBMITTER: Marciniak D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7554127 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature