Mini-mental state exam domains predict falls in an elderly population: follow-up from the Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (H-EPESE) study.

OBJECTIVES: Assessment of the predictive ability of the Mini-Mental Status Exam (MMSE) domains (orientation to time, orientation to place, registration, attention and calculation, recall, language, and visual construction) for falls in Mexican American elders tested the hypothesis that low MMSE domain scores are related to an increased number of falls.
DESIGN: Data were obtained from the 1998-99 re-survey (Wave 3) Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly (H-EPESE), a population-based study of older Mexican Americans residing in the southwestern United States.
METHODOLOGY: We used a retrospective case control study design; 926 subjects who were aged > or = 77 years at Wave 3 were examined. MMSE scores were utilized to predict falls two years later. Measurements included sociodemographic characteristics, MMSE scores, activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), and fall rates. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Relationships between MMSE domain scores and falls.
RESULTS: Of the 681 subjects examined two years later, 35.7% experienced at least one fall. Subjects with errors on orientation to place (OR = 2.01) and visual construction (OR = 1.9) were most likely to fall.
CONCLUSIONS: MMSE domains with poor scores and most predictive of falls in Mexican Americans elders were orientation to place and visual construction. Further evaluation for confusion level and visual ability in elders presenting with dysfunction on these domains may lead to a reduction of falls in this ethnic group.