Association between falls and musculoskeletal pain among middle-aged and older adults: Findings from the China health and retirement longitudinal study

Abstract

Abstract Background Falls are common particularly in elderly people and usually associated with poor prognosis or healing outcomes. Musculoskeletal pain is considered an independent risk factor for falls, by being associated with joint pathology and instability, neuromuscular effects of pain, and changes in cognitive and psychological function. Understanding the relationship between musculoskeletal pain and the risk of falls will help with falls prevention among older adults. Methods A nationally representative sample for the Chinese population was derived from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). Information on the patients’ demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, other health-related behavior, as well as history on musculoskeletal pain and falls were obtained. Univariate and multivariate analysis were used to explore the effect factors of falls, including individual factors and musculoskeletal pain factors. P for trend test was performed to examine the trend of each continuous variable. Results Among 18813 respondents, 3697 have experienced a fall. The risk of falls was lower for respondents who were male, lived in urban areas, had higher education level, and were married (P < 0.05). The risk of falls increased with higher age (P < 0.05), as well as for respondents who were still drinking alcohol or who used to drink alcohol at the time of the survey (P < 0.05). The risk of falls also increased for respondents who had suffered from pain in the fingers, waist, legs and knees (P < 0.05), as well as for those who had a higher number of painful sites (P < 0.05). Conclusion Factors including gender, age, education level and health-related behavior may affect the risk of falls. Musculoskeletal pain is one of the factors that could be targeted to help prevent falls in older people.