Drinking Alcohol and Falls among Older Adults: Important Facts to Know

I. Alcohol and Falls.

Are alcohol and falls associated among older people? This is an important question. Falls are a major health problem for the elderly. For example, 95% of hip fractures result from falls. And a broken hip leads to a downward spiral to death about half the time it occurs. So preventing falls among senior citizens is a major public health concern.

To see if alcohol and falls are connected, researchers studied 2,170 community-dwelling persons age 60 or older. At the beginning of the study, participants reported their alcohol consumption. At the end of about three years, they reported any falls within the previous year.

Moderate drinkers were compared to life-long alcohol abstainers. Those who drank in moderation were 21% less likely to fall. They were 33% less likely to have a fall requiring medical attention. And they were 42% less likely to have two or more falls.¹

Abstaining from alcohol appears to be a risk factor for falls among older adults. We can reduce that risk by drinking in moderation.

II. Risk of Falls

Some general risk factors for falling are being older, being female, and having a history of falling.

Many diseases and conditions also contribute to fall risk. These include

• Balance disorders
    Very, Very Helpful           You Have the Power to Prevent a Fall Video. 
• Cognitive impairments
• Knee pain
• Lower back pain
• Low blood pressure
• Osteoarthritis
  Find an Evidence Based Personal Falls Prevention Program in Your Area.
  
• Osteoporosis
• Parkinson’s disease
• Stroke
• Vertebral fracture.
• Visual impairments.

Many medications increase the risk of falls. They can do so either alone or in combination. They include

• Anti-arrhythmics
• Antidepressants
• Anti-hypertensives
• Anti-seizure medications
• Benzodiazepines
• Diuretics
• Sedative-hypnotics.

III. Resources on Falls

These books and videos show practical ways to reduce the risk og falling.

ABC Int’l. Preventing Falls. NY: Films Media, 2013. (Video)

Evans, B. Accidental Falls: Risk Factors, Prevention Strategies and Long-term Outcomes. NY: Nova, 2015.

Fredrikson, E. How to Avoid Falling: a Guide for Active Aging and Independence. Richmond Hill, Ont.: Firefly, 2004.

HCPro. Falls Prevention. Marblehead, MA: HCPro, 2005. (Video)

Haslam, R. and Stubbs, D. Understanding and Preventing Falls. Boca Raton: Taylor & Francis, 2006.

Kendzior, R. Falls Aren’t Funny: America’s Multi-billion-dollar Slip-and-fall Crisis. Lanham, MD: Gov’t Inst., 2010.

Nat. Safety Compliance. Slips, Trips and Falls. Springfield, MO: Nat. Safety Compliance, 2009. (Video)

Lord, S. Falls in Older People: Risk Factors and Strategies for Prevention. NY: Cambridge U. Press, 2011.

Tideiksaar, R. Falling in Old Age: Prevention. NY: Springer, 1997

Vincent, M. and Moreau, T. Accidental Falls: Causes, Prevention and Intervention. NY: Nova, 2008.

WHO. Global Report on Falls Prevention in Older Age. Geneva: WHO, 2007.

IV. Reference for Alcohol and Falls

1 Ortolá, R., García-Esquinas, E., Galán, I., Guallar-Castillón, P., López- García, E., Banegas, J., and Rodríguez-Artalejo, F. Patterns of alcohol consumption and risk of falls in older adults: a prospective cohort study.  Osteoporosis Int. First Online: 19 July 2017.  doi: 10.1007/s00198-017-4157-2.