Depressive Symptoms, Subjective Cognitive Decline, and Subjective Sleep Quality Are Associated with Slips and Falls: Data from the Community Health Survey in Korean Adults.

Background: Identifying the risk factors for falls among the elderly population is arguably one of the most imperative public health issues in the current aging society.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the associations between depressive symptoms, subjective cognitive decline (SCD), and poor subjective sleep quality and the risk of slips/falls in a Korean older population.

Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 228,340 elderly individuals living in Korea. Measurements included self-reported depressive symptoms, SCD, and self-reported sleep quality. The risk of slips/falls was dichotomized depending on whether slips/falls had occurred during the past year, and the associations between different risk factors and slips/falls were explored. Multiple logistic regression was used to obtain the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Complex sampling methods were used to estimate the weighted value of each participant.

Results: The risk of slips/falls was significantly associated with high levels of depressive symptoms (adjusted OR 1.06, 95% CI: 1.05-1.07) and SCD (adjusted OR 1.33, 95% CI: 1.19-1.50). Regarding each sleep quality component, the adjusted ORs for slips/falls were 1.85 for very poor sleep quality, 1.49 for long sleep latency, 1.04 for <5 h of sleep duration, 1.32 for low sleep efficiency, 2.78 for high sleep disturbance, 1.52 for the use of sleep medication ≥3 times a week, and 1.82 for high daytime dysfunction due to sleep problems compared to the respective good sleep conditions.

Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that depressive symptoms, SCD, and poor subjective sleep quality are independent factors affecting the occurrence of slips/falls. Thus, efforts to manage depressive symptoms and cognitive decline early and to improve sleep quality can be an alternative strategy to decrease the likelihood of falls.