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Dementia as a risk factor for falls and fall injuries among nursing home residents
van Doorn C, Gruber-Baldini AL, Zimmerman S, Hebel JR, Port CL, Baumgarten M, Quinn CC, Taler G et al.. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2003-09-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Objectives To compare rates of falling between nursing home residents with and without dementia and to examine dementia as an independent risk factor for falls and fall injuries. Design Prospective cohort study with 2 years of follow-up. Setting Fifty-nine randomly selected nursing homes in Maryland, stratified by geographic region and facility size. Participants Two thousand fifteen newly admitted residents aged 65 and older. Measurements During 2 years after nursing home admission, fall data were collected from nursing home charts and hospital discharge summaries. Results The unadjusted fall rate for residents in the nursing home with dementia was 4.05 per year, compared with 2.33 falls per year for residents without dementia (P Conclusion Dementia is an independent risk factor for falling. Although most falls do not result in injury, the fact that residents with dementia fall more often than their counterparts without dementia leaves them with a higher overall risk of sustaining injurious falls over time. Nursing home residents with dementia should be considered important candidates for fall-prevention and fall-injury-prevention strategies.
Key findings
- Results The unadjusted fall rate for residents in the nursing home with dementia was 4.05 per year, compared with 2.33 falls per year for residents without dementia (P Conclusion Dementia is an independent risk factor for falling.
- Although most falls do not result in injury, the fact that residents with dementia fall more often than their counterparts without dementia leaves them with a higher overall risk of sustaining injurious falls over time.
Why it matters
Among 2,015 newly admitted nursing home residents, those with dementia fell more often than those without, and dementia was found to be an independent risk factor for falling. The authors conclude that residents with dementia should be considered important candidates for fall-prevention and fall-injury-prevention strategies.
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Study details
- Study designcohort study
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 58/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of the American Geriatrics Society) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Journal of the American Geriatrics Society: journal h-index 344 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A cohort study following people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2003 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 470 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 18.8 citations a year over 25 year(s) since 2003 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 37.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 6 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 36 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Jay S Magaziner: h-index 77 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: institution h-index 1,674 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 12919232) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 58 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
van Doorn, C., Gruber-Baldini, A. L., Zimmerman, S., Hebel, JR., Port, C. L., Baumgarten, M., et al. (2003). Dementia as a risk factor for falls and fall injuries among nursing home residents. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1532-5415.2003.51404.x
Vancouver
van Doorn C, Gruber-Baldini AL, Zimmerman S, Hebel JR, Port CL, Baumgarten M, et al. Dementia as a risk factor for falls and fall injuries among nursing home residents. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2003. doi:10.1046/j.1532-5415.2003.51404.x. PMID: 12919232.
BibTeX
@article{vandoorn2003-12919232,
author = {van Doorn, C. and Gruber-Baldini, A. L. and Zimmerman, S. and Hebel, JR. and Port, C. L. and Baumgarten, M. and Quinn, C. C. and Taler, G. and others},
title = {{Dementia as a risk factor for falls and fall injuries among nursing home residents}},
journal = {Journal of the American Geriatrics Society},
year = {2003},
doi = {10.1046/j.1532-5415.2003.51404.x},
pmid = {12919232},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1532-5415.2003.51404.x}
}
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