Kenji Mamoto1, Kentaro Inui2, Tadashi Okano1, Yuko Sugioka3, Masahiro Tada1, Tatsuya Koike3,4, Hiroaki Nakamura1. 1. a Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. 2. b Department of Rheumatosurgery and. 3. c Center for Senile Degenerative Disorders (CSDD), Osaka City University Medical School , Osaka , Japan , and. 4. d Search Institute for Bone and Arthritis Disease (SINBAD), Shirahama Foundation for Health and Welfare , Wakayama , Japan.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been recognized to experience falls frequently due to functional disabilities. The aim of this study was to prospectively investigate factors influencing falls in patients with RA compared to controls. METHODS: We compared the frequency of falls in 208 RA patients and 205 age- and sex-matched volunteers for four years and analyzed risk factors for falls in RA patients using multivariate regression analysis. RESULTS: No significant difference in the incidence rate of falls (/person-year) between patients with RA (median [interquartile range]: 0 [0, 0.5]) and controls (0 [0, 0.5]) was evident during four years. Logistic regression analysis identified age, sex, body mass index, history of falls, and lower limb implant at baseline as significant risk factors for falls. The highest quartile of anti-CCP antibody level (>300.6 U/ml) was the strongest predictor for multiple falls (odds ratio, 2.97; 95% confidence interval, 1.12-7.91, p = 0.029) among RA patients. CONCLUSION: During four years we could not observe the higher incidence rate of falls in RA patients compared to controls in our cohort. Subjects with a higher titer of anti-CCP antibody might be at higher risk of frequent falls among RA patients.
OBJECTIVE:Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been recognized to experience falls frequently due to functional disabilities. The aim of this study was to prospectively investigate factors influencing falls in patients with RA compared to controls. METHODS: We compared the frequency of falls in 208 RApatients and 205 age- and sex-matched volunteers for four years and analyzed risk factors for falls in RApatients using multivariate regression analysis. RESULTS: No significant difference in the incidence rate of falls (/person-year) between patients with RA (median [interquartile range]: 0 [0, 0.5]) and controls (0 [0, 0.5]) was evident during four years. Logistic regression analysis identified age, sex, body mass index, history of falls, and lower limb implant at baseline as significant risk factors for falls. The highest quartile of anti-CCP antibody level (>300.6 U/ml) was the strongest predictor for multiple falls (odds ratio, 2.97; 95% confidence interval, 1.12-7.91, p = 0.029) among RApatients. CONCLUSION: During four years we could not observe the higher incidence rate of falls in RApatients compared to controls in our cohort. Subjects with a higher titer of anti-CCP antibody might be at higher risk of frequent falls among RApatients.