Nutritional, Cognitive, and Functional Deficits, Frailty, and Quality of Life Associated With Fall Risk in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study Conducted in Brazil.

Introduction/objective: Falls affect approximately 30% of the older adult population. We aimed to compare the associations between fall risk and different multidimensional health aspects among older adults receiving care in the Brazilian Primary Health Care (PHC) system.

Method: Cross-sectional, quantitative study involving older adults from PHC. The Fall Risk Score, Mini Nutritional Assessment, Mini-Mental State Examination, Edmonton Frail Scale, Barthel Index, Lawton & Brody Scale, and Medical Outcomes Study Questionnaire Short Form was used to measure the variables of interest. Correlation analyses and binary logistic regression were also employed.

Results: A total of n = 257 individuals participated, of whom n = 102 (39.7%) were with risk for falls. Preserved cognition, absence of frailty, and better functionality levels were identified as protective factors against fall risk through association and correlation analyses. The binary logistic regression analysis found that the factors contributing most to the reduction of fall risk were higher nutritional scores, better cognitive function, preserved functionality (BADL and IADL), and the functional domain of quality of life (QoL).

Conclusion: Better nutritional status, cognition, functionality, and QoL were associated with a lower risk of falls. Although frailty exhibited similar results, it did not stand out equally as a contributing factor to fall risk.