Premium
Genetic Factors and Susceptibility to Falls in Older Women
Author(s) -
Pajala Satu,
Era Pertti,
Koskenvuo Markku,
Kaprio Jaakko,
Viljanen Anne,
Rantanen Taina
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2006.00678.x
Subject(s) - medicine , concordance , twin study , confidence interval , cohort , demography , telephone interview , poison control , prospective cohort study , cohort study , injury prevention , dizygotic twin , monozygotic twin , pediatrics , heritability , genetics , medical emergency , social science , sociology , biology
OBJECTIVES: To determine whether genetic influences account for individual differences in susceptibility to falls in older women. DESIGN: Prospective twin cohort study. SETTING: Research laboratory and residential environment. PARTICIPANTS: Ninety‐nine monozygotic (MZ) and 114 dizygotic (DZ) female twin pairs aged 63 to 76 from the Finnish Twin Cohort study. MEASUREMENTS: The participants recorded their falls on a calendar for an average±standard deviation of 344±41 days. Reported falls were verified via telephone interview, and circumstances, causes, and consequences of the fall were asked about. RESULTS: The total number of falls was 434, of which 188 were injurious; 91 participants had two or more falls. Casewise concordance was 0.61 (95% confidence interval (CI)=0.49–0.72) for MZ twins and 0.49 (95% CI=0.37–0.62) for DZ twins for at least one fall, 0.38 (95% CI=0.23–0.53) for MZ and 0.33 (95% CI=0.17–0.50) for DZ twins for at least one injurious fall, and 0.43 (95% CI=0.26–0.60) for MZ and 0.36 (95% CI=0.17–0.55) for DZ twins for recurrent falls. On average, the proportion of familial influences accounting for the individual differences in susceptibility to at least one fall was 30% and to recurrent falls was 40%; nongenetic familial and nonfamilial factors alone accounted for susceptibility to at least one injurious fall. CONCLUSION: In community‐dwelling older women, familial factors underlie the risk of falling but not the risk of injurious falls.