Falls among middle-aged women in the Women's Interagency HIV Study

BACKGROUND: To determine the frequency and risk factors for falls among middle-aged HIV+ and HIV- women in the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS). METHODS: We quantified self-report of any and multiple (≥2 falls) in the prior 6 months among 1,412 HIV+ and 650 HIV- women with mean age 48 years. Logistic regression was used to evaluate associations of demographics, behavioral factors, comorbid conditions, and medications with odds of any fall (vs. none) and multiple falls (vs. ≤1 fall). RESULTS: At least one fall was reported in 263 HIV+ (19%) vs. 119 HIV- (18%) women, and ≥2 falls reported in 133 HIV+ (9%) vs. 65 HIV- (10%) women. HIV infection was not associated with falls in multivariate analyses. Factors independently associated with any fall included age (aOR 1.71, 95% CI:1.17-2.49 age 50-59 vs. CONCLUSIONS: Falls were associated with factors affecting cognition, but not HIV status in this large cohort of women. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine the incidence and consequences of falls by HIV status as women age. Language: en