ALCOHOL AS A RISK FACTOR FOR FALL INJURY EVENTS AMONG ELDERLY PERSONS LIVING IN THE COMMUNITY

Objective: To determine if alcohol use is a risk factor for fall injury events among community-dwelling older persons. Design: Case-control study. Setting: South Miami Beach, Florida. Participants: 320 persons 65 or older who sought treatment at six area hospitals for injuries resulting from falls; 609 controls, matched for sex and age, selected randomly from Health Care Financing Administration (Medicare) files. Main Independent Variables: Self-reported current alcohol use. Results: No association was found between fall injury events and average weekly alcohol use. Conclusions: Further efforts at reducing injuries to older persons from falls should concentrate on other modifiable risk factors, including adequate treatment of underlying medical conditions, reducing inappropriate psychotropic medication use, and installing safety devices in the home.