Who Is Most At Risk Of Suffering An Injurious Fall On Snow Or Ice?

Falls are a leading cause of injury, hospitalization, and death among older adults, costing Canada approximately $5.6 million annually. Many factors contribute to fall risk, and despite the popular belief that adverse weather impacts the risk of falls, this association is largely under-studied. PURPOSE: To determine which individual characteristics are associated with an increased risk of sustaining an injurious fall on snow or ice in the Canadian Study on Longitudinal Aging cohort. METHODS: Data from 51,338 participants in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (aged 45-85 at baseline) were used to build a profile (e.g., age, sex, body mass index, chronic conditions, medications, body composition, physical function variables) of those who are most at risk of suffering an injurious fall on snow or ice. To do so, participants were compared by being grouped into one of three categories: 1 - did not suffer an injurious fall, 2 - suffered an injurious fall on snow or ice, or 3 - suffered an injurious fall elsewhere. RESULTS: A total of 254 individuals reported an injurious fall on snow or ice (average age: 62.1 ± 9.8 years; 50.8% male), and 2,342 reported an injurious fall elsewhere (average age: 63.9 ± 10.5 years; 39.2% male). No significant differences were found between those who did not suffer an injurious fall and those who suffered an injurious fall on snow or ice. Compared to those who suffered an injurious fall elsewhere, those who suffered an injurious fall on snow or ice were significantly younger (p = .006), more likely to be male (p < .001) and had a significantly stronger grip strength (p = .005). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that being a middle-aged man is associated with a higher risk of an injurious fall on snow or ice. Longitudinal data will be used to confirm this association. This work could lead to targeted public health guidelines to reduce the risk of injurious falls on snow/ice.