Résumé
Introduction: Falls and cognitive disability represent important problems of public health, yet their relationships and the roles as mediators of lifestyle factors have not been well documented. This study assessed the association between falls and cognitive disability and lifestyle factors among elderly people. Methods and materials: In total 1,697 subjects (776 men and 921 women), 60 years, randomly selected from the Lorraine population ( 2 . 3 aged million inhabitants) completed a postal questionnaire including sociodemographic characteristics, height, weight, socio-occupational category, diseases diagnosed by a physician, smoking habit, alcohol abuse (Deta questionnaire), cognitive disability (defined as difficulties for concentration, attention, orienteering, problem-solving or memory), and falls which resulted in physical injuries with difficulties for daily living activities observed at the time of the survey (at home, work, public places, during sports or leisure activities). Data were analyzed using the logistic model. Resuls: Falls were common (3.5%) and cognitive disability affected 46.6% of subjects. Falls related to cognitive disability (odds ratio 2.09, 95% CI 1.04-2.96). The OR decreased to 1.48 (95% CI 0.86-2.55) when controlling for gender, age, educational level, obesity, smoking, alcohol abuse, musculoskeletal disorders, other diseases, and perceived income. Among these factors those with significant adjusted OR (ORa), and thus mediated the association between falls and cognitive disability, were: aged 70-79 (ORa 1.73, 0.96-3.09) and aged 80+ (2.20, 1.01-4.83) vs. aged 60-69, obesity (1.88, 1.09-3.23), alcohol abuse (3.07, 1.30-7.24), and musculoskeletal disorders (4.43, 1.74-11.31). Conclusion: We found high prevalences of cognitive disability and falls with physical injuries and their strong associations in the general elderly population. This relationship was partly mediated by increasing age, obesity.