THE falls of elderly people lead to more than 100,000 hospitalizations and more than 10,000 deaths each year in France, according to the website solidarite.gouv. Indeed, the Health Insurance website reminds us that Older people are more at risk of falls due to their state of health, their internal environment sometimes unsuitable and certain lifestyle habits, such as risk-taking, insufficient nutritionor excessive alcohol consumption.
A study American published on July 31, 2024 in the Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians Open has precisely looked into the link between alcohol consumption reported and the incidence of intracranial hemorrhage in elderly people who have undergone head trauma following a fall. According to the scientists, while previous research has linked alcohol consumption to an increased risk of falling, this is the first work to look at its impact on the severity of this accident.
Alcohol consumption may increase the risk of falls and the severity of their health consequences in older adults
The scientists focused on more than 3,000 patients over the age of 65 who had undergone a first head scan after a head injury due to a fall. They asked them about their alcohol consumption, classifying it into three categories: none, occasional and weekly or daily.
At the end of the study, the researchers noticed that alcohol consumption could increase the risk of falls as well as the severity of the injuries that resulted. Indeed, they noted that 18.2% of older people who had suffered a head trauma following a fall reported drinking alcohol, and 6% of them reported consuming it daily.
Why can older people’s alcohol consumption increase their risk of falling?
Moreover, the frequency of intracranial hemorrhage was greater in alcohol consumers (22%), compared to those who did not drink (12%). The scientists also observed that the risk of intracranial hemorrhage increased proportionally to alcohol consumption: it was 8.5% among occasional consumers and 13.1% among daily drinkers. “We observed that occasional alcohol consumption was associated with a two-fold increased risk of intracranial hemorrhage compared with non-drinking patients and daily alcohol consumption was associated with a 150% increased risk of intracranial hemorrhage.“, said Richard Shih, one of the study’s authors, in a statement.
According to the study’s researchers, alcohol consumption is therefore a significant risk factor for falls. But why are older people more likely to fall when drinking alcohol, even occasionally?Drinking alcohol can increase the risk of falling because:she affects balanceconcentration and awareness“, explained Richard Shih. He added that the effects of alcohol can also increase with age because “Older people often have a higher percentage body fat relative to body water, which increases the concentration of alcohol in the blood and They don’t treat alcohol as effectively as they used to”.
Alcohol use in older adults: Findings that should be incorporated into fall prevention strategies, researchers say
Regarding the interest of this work, Richard Shih concluded that these “Results suggest that alcohol assessment and mitigation strategies may be useful adjuncts to strategies of fall prevention“Indeed, the study’s scientists hope that fall prevention strategies can consider alcohol consumption as a modifiable risk factor.
Sources :
- Alcohol use is associated with intracranial hemorrhage in older emergency department head trauma patients – Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians Open – 31 juillet 2024
- Alcohol use in older adults doubles risk of brain bleeds from falls – EurekAlert! – 8 août 2024
- Anti-fall plan for the elderly – Solidarite.gouv
- How to prevent falls in the elderly? – Ameli.fr
