Physical Activity Patterns And Fall Risk In Older Adults: A Gender-specific Latent Class Analysis

Falls pose a serious risk for older adults, often resulting in severe injuries that impact mobility and quality of life. While physical activity (PA) has been shown to lower fall risk, research has largely focused on individual PA types rather than integrated patterns. PURPOSE: To examine the relationship between specific PA patterns and fall risk among older adults, focusing on gender-specific differences using Latent Class Analysis (LCA). METHODS: This study analyzed data from 81,852 older adults in the 2023 South Korea Community Health Survey. LCA was used to classify subgroups based on participation in vigorous physical activity (VPA), moderate physical activity (MPA), walking (Walk), and flexibility exercises (Flex) with the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) as the primary model selection criterion (lower BIC values indicating better model fit). Analyses were conducted separately for males and females. Subsequently, logistic regression models assessed fall risks across these PA subgroups for each gender. RESULTS: Four PA subgroups were identified for each gender. For males, the subgroups were classified as ‘VPA/MPA/Walk/Flex,’ ‘MPA/Walk,’ ‘Walk/Flex,’ and ‘Walk,’ while for females, the subgroups were ‘MPA/Walk/Flex,’ ‘MPA/Walk,’ ‘Walk/Flex,’ and ‘Walk.’ Notably, no subgroup with VPA was identified among females. Older adults who engaged only in walking had a higher risk of falls compared to those with a diverse mix of PA. Specifically, in males, the odds of experiencing a fall were significantly higher in the Walk-only group compared to the VPA/MPA/Walk/Flex group (OR = 1.65, 95% CI: 1.53, 1.79), the MPA/Walk group (OR = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.37, 1.70), and the Walk/Flex group (OR = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.32, 1.63). Similarly, in females, the Walk-only group had the highest odds of experiencing a fall compared to the MPA/Walk/Flex group (OR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.23, 1.39), the MPA/Walk group (OR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.33), and the Walk/Flex group (OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.17). CONCLUSIONS: Engaging in various forms of PA is associated with a reduced fall risk, indicating that a multifaceted PA regimen is more effective than single activities like walking alone. These findings suggest that fall prevention strategies for older adults should promote diverse PA participation, with particular attention to gender differences.