Cardiovascular risk factors for falls in older people

Download files
Access & Terms of Use
open access
Copyright: Wong, Kwok Wai Alfred
Altmetric
Abstract
Cardiovascular disease and falls are common causes of morbidity and mortality in older people and the prevalence of both increases with age. Arterial stiffness is a predictor of adverse cardiovascular events and considered a marker of “vascular ageing”. The concept of vascular ageing has not been explored in relation to falls. A review of the literature on the epidemiology of falls including cardiovascular factors in falls and measurement of cardiovascular integrity was undertaken. This work set out to explore the possible relationships between cardiovascular factors and falls in older people living in the community. The aims of the study were to establish correlations between different cardiovascular measurements, cognition, cerebral structural changes and falls in older people. The participants in the study came from a longitudinal study (Memory and Ageing Study) which includes clinical and neuropsychological assessment, blood tests and cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures as part of its test battery. Participants were then invited for postural stability and cardiovascular assessment. A number of validated methods for measuring postural stability (falls risk and balance) and cardiovascular integrity were administered. Five hundred and thirty one participants, aged between 73 to 92 years, were assessed at baseline and then followed prospectively for falls over a 12 month period. Significant findings of the study include: 1. Arterial stiffness was found to correlate with postural stability. 2. In men, arterial stiffness was found to correlate with the following cognitive domains: processing speed, attention and executive function. 3. Arterial stiffness was higher among fallers. 4. Use of cardiovascular medications was not associated with falls, with the exception that fallers were taking fewer medications affecting the renin-angiotensin system. The study findings provide links between vascular ageing and falls by uncovering associations between arterial stiffness, postural stability, neuropsychological performance and falls. Clinically, they support the increasing trend to treat cardiovascular disease and hypertension in older people. Cardiovascular medication use in the older people appears not to increase the risk of falls and the use of medications affecting the renin-angiotensin system may decrease falls risk.
Persistent link to this record
Link to Publisher Version
Link to Open Access Version
Additional Link
Author(s)
Wong, Kwok Wai Alfred
Supervisor(s)
Lord, Stephen
Close, Jacqueline
Creator(s)
Editor(s)
Translator(s)
Curator(s)
Designer(s)
Arranger(s)
Composer(s)
Recordist(s)
Conference Proceedings Editor(s)
Other Contributor(s)
Corporate/Industry Contributor(s)
Publication Year
2011
Resource Type
Thesis
Degree Type
PhD Doctorate
UNSW Faculty
Files
download whole.pdf 1.49 MB Adobe Portable Document Format
Related dataset(s)