- 期刊
Comparison of Footwear between Fallers and Nonfallers in a Malaysian Population
並列摘要
Objectives: Falls are associated with major health expenditure and physical disability in older people worldwide. The association between footwear and falls have not well elucidated outside Western countries. Our aim is to compare footwear preference and foot deformities between urban-dwelling fallers and non-fallers in a middle-income Asian country. Methods: Our recruitment target is 300 fallers of ≥65 years with a history of (i) two or more falls, or (ii) one injurious fall in the past 12 months. Baseline assessment includes retrieving information on type of footwear, reason for choice of footwear. Results: 163 fallers and 149 non-fallers were recruited. The mean (standard deviation) age of participants was 73.4 (6.5) years, 66% women. Comparison of footwear types between faller and non-faller groups were: slippers (29.4%, 32.3%), walking shoes (27.6%, 26.8%), sandals (27%, 26.8%), sport shoes (7.4%, 2%) and high heels (1.2%, 2%) and other footwear (2.5%, 4.0%). Fallers were not more likely to wear slippers than non-fallers [x2 (1, n=295) =0.37, p=.54)]. The most common reason for footwear of choice among fallers and non-fallers is due to comfort (66.9%, 63.8%), followed by reliability (12.9%, 7.4%), convenience (8.0%, 15.4%), affordability (1.2, 0%) and appearance (0.6%, 1.3%). Conclusion: Both faller and non-faller groups favor slippers as footwear of choice. There is no significant association between wearing slippers and falls in our older population. However, it remains to be established whether footwear interventions will reduce falls in our population, and this will need to be assessed in a randomized controlled study.