Factors associated with falls in the outpatient geriatric service of a university hospital in Bogotá, Colombia

Introduction: falls in the elderly have a negative impact on functional status and the risk of falls increases progressively with age, so it is important to objectify all the risk factors of each patient. Our objective was to describe the prevalence and factors associated with falls in patients from the geriatric outpatient service of the San Ignacio University Hospital in Bogotá, Colombia. Materials and methods: a descriptive study was carried out with patients assessed in the geriatric outpatient clinic of the San Ignacio University Hospital from January 2017 to December 2018. Results: 233 patients were included, documenting a prevalence of falls of 44.5%. In the bivariate analysis, the variables with a statistically significant association were: the presence of major neurocognitive disorder (TNCM) (OR 2.31 95% CI 1.28-4.18 p 0.005), fear of falling (OR 2.27 95% CI 1.24-4.18 p 0.008), a moderate to total degree of dependence (OR 1.93 95% CI 1.11-3.35 p 0.019) and a poor nutritional status (OR 1.18 95% CI 1.099-3.18 p 0.02). However, in the multivariate analysis, the variables that maintained the association were TNCM (OR 2.09 95% CI 1.14-3.86 p 0.001) and fear of falling (OR 2.27 95% CI 1.19-4.32 p 0.001). Conclusion: the variables associated with falls in our population are related to what is described in the world literature; Interventions are necessary to correct these factors and avoid falls in our population, as well as to design more studies to detect other associated factors.