The Association of Microvascular Complications and Falls in the Diabetic Population

Objective:To compare the prevalence of falls among individuals aged 45 years or older with and without diabetes using data from 50 states and territories in the 2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). We also examined retinopathy and neuropathy as risk factors for falls among the diabetic population.

Methods:Falls were defined as having fallen one or more times during the past 3 months. Retinopathy was based on doctor diagnosis and neuropathy was determined by the question “Have you ever had any sores or irritations on your feet that took more than four weeks to heal?”  Age-standardized prevalence of falls was calculated. Logistic regression was used to examine the associations of falls with retinopathy and neuropathy adjusted for demographics (age, race, gender and education), disability and chronic conditions (cardiovascular diseases and obesity). SUDAAN was used to account for the complex sample design.

Results:Among 230385 subjects older than 45 years, the age-standardized prevalence of falls in diabetics and non-diabetics was 21.5% and 15.1%, respectively (p < 0.05). Among the diabetic population, retinopathy (odds ratio (OR) =1.39, 95% confidence interval (CI) =1.20-1.61) and neuropathy (OR=1.73 CI=1.42-2.10) were independently associated with falls after adjusting for all covariates.

Conclusion:Diabetic adults had significant higher prevalence of falls than those without diabetes. Retinopathy and neuropathy were independently associated with falls among persons with diabetes