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A recent study exploring the relationship between self-reported falling risk and hospitalizations in individuals with COPD found a high prevalence of falling risk in veterans with COPD and a significant association between falling risk factors and all-cause hospitalization.

The following is a summary of “Association between self-reported falling risk and risk of hospitalization for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,” published in the DECEMBER 2023 issue of Pulmonology by Ritchey, et al.

The relationship between self-reported falling risk and hospitalization in individuals with COPD remains unexplored. For a study, researchers sought to investigate whether self-reported falling risk is associated with hospitalizations in patients diagnosed with COPD. They sought to examine the association between self-reported falling risk and hospitalizations, both all-cause and COPD-specific, in individuals with COPD.

The secondary analysis draws from a prospective observational cohort study involving veterans diagnosed with COPD. Participants responded to questions from the Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths, and Injuries (STEADI) toolkit at baseline or the study’s conclusion. A prospective and cross-sectional analysis was conducted to explore the link between participants’ responses to STEADI questions and the risk of all-cause or COPD-related hospitalizations.

Among the 388 participants, with a mean age of 69.6 ± 7.5 years and predominantly male (96%), 144 (37.1%) reported falling in the last year. More than half reported feeling unsteady while walking (52.6%) or requiring assistance from their arms to stand up from a chair (61.1%). Approximately a third expressed concerns about falling (33.3%). Three questions were significantly associated with all-cause hospitalization, not specific to COPD, in both unadjusted and adjusted cross-sectional analyses (N = 213): “fallen in the past year” (IRR 1.77, 95% CI 1.10 to 2.86); “unsteady when walking” (IRR 1.88, 95% CI 1.14 to 3.10); “advised to use a cane or walker” (IRR 1.89, 95% CI 1.16 to 3.08).

The prevalence of self-reported falling risk was notably high in the cohort of veterans with COPD. The observed association between falling risk and all-cause hospitalization implies that non-COPD-related hospitalizations may adversely affect intrinsic falling risk factors. Further research was warranted to elucidate the impact of all-cause hospitalization on falling risk among individuals with COPD.

Source: resmedjournal.com/article/S0954-6111(23)00354-2/fulltext