• E-mail
• Print
• RSS

Diabetic SNF residents 400 percent more likely to fall

LTC Liability Monitor, September 29, 2005

Diabetic nursing home residents are four times as likely to fall than non-diabetic residents, according to a recent study co-funded by the National Institute on Aging and the American Federation of Aging Research. Published in the September issue of the Journal of Gerontology, the study examined a 299-day period at the Hebrew Home in Riverdale, NY. It measured blood pressure continuously-as opposed to every few minutes-in each each of its 139 subjects while they were standing.

The study found that 78% of the residents who had diabetes fell during that period, but only 30% of non-diabetic residents suffered similar falls. Researchers isolated peripheral neuropathy-a condition in peripheral nerves that affects sensations felt in a diabetic's foot-as a major cause of falls for diabetic seniors. Diabetes was not previously thought to be a falls risk factor, the study stated.

• E-mail to a Colleague
• Print
• RSS
• Archive