TY - JOUR
T1 - The impact of weather and seasons on falls and physical activity among older adults with glaucoma
T2 - A longitudinal prospective cohort study
AU - Vongsachang, Hursuong
AU - Mihailovic, Aleksandra
AU - Jian-Yu, E.
AU - Friedman, David S.
AU - West, Sheila K.
AU - Gitlin, Laura N.
AU - Ramulu, Pradeep Y.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: This research was funded by the National Institutes of Health, grant number EY022976. H.V. was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), National Institutes of Health, grant number TL1 TR003100.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2021/5/2
Y1 - 2021/5/2
N2 - Understanding periods of the year associated with higher risk for falling and less physical activity may guide fall prevention and activity promotion for older adults. We examined the relationship between weather and seasons on falls and physical activity in a three-year cohort of older adults with glaucoma. Participants recorded falls information via monthly calendars and participated in four one-week accelerometer trials (baseline and per study year). Across 240 participants, there were 406 falls recorded over 7569 person-months, of which 163 were injurious (40%). In separate multivariable regression models incorporating generalized estimating equations, temperature, precipitation, and seasons were not significantly associated with the odds of falling, average daily steps, or average daily active minutes. However, every 10◦ C increase in average daily temperature was associated with 24% higher odds of a fall being injurious, as opposed to non-injurious (p = 0.04). The odds of an injurious fall occurring outdoors, as opposed to indoors, were greater with higher average temperatures (OR per 10◦ C = 1.46, p = 0.03) and with the summer season (OR = 2.69 vs. winter, p = 0.03). Falls and physical activity should be understood as year-round issues for older adults, although the likelihood of injury and the location of fall-related injuries may change with warmer season and temperatures.
AB - Understanding periods of the year associated with higher risk for falling and less physical activity may guide fall prevention and activity promotion for older adults. We examined the relationship between weather and seasons on falls and physical activity in a three-year cohort of older adults with glaucoma. Participants recorded falls information via monthly calendars and participated in four one-week accelerometer trials (baseline and per study year). Across 240 participants, there were 406 falls recorded over 7569 person-months, of which 163 were injurious (40%). In separate multivariable regression models incorporating generalized estimating equations, temperature, precipitation, and seasons were not significantly associated with the odds of falling, average daily steps, or average daily active minutes. However, every 10◦ C increase in average daily temperature was associated with 24% higher odds of a fall being injurious, as opposed to non-injurious (p = 0.04). The odds of an injurious fall occurring outdoors, as opposed to indoors, were greater with higher average temperatures (OR per 10◦ C = 1.46, p = 0.03) and with the summer season (OR = 2.69 vs. winter, p = 0.03). Falls and physical activity should be understood as year-round issues for older adults, although the likelihood of injury and the location of fall-related injuries may change with warmer season and temperatures.
KW - Accelerometer
KW - Falls
KW - Older adults
KW - Seasons
KW - Weather
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85105724371&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/s21103415
DO - 10.3390/s21103415
M3 - Article
C2 - 34068938
AN - SCOPUS:85105724371
SN - 1424-3210
VL - 21
JO - Sensors
JF - Sensors
IS - 10
M1 - 3415
ER -