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Brief communication
Risk of fall in patients with COPD
  1. Ali Hakamy1,2,
  2. Charlotte E Bolton1,
  3. Jack E Gibson2,
  4. Tricia M McKeever2
  1. 1 Nottingham Respiratory Research Unit, NIHR Nottingham BRC, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
  2. 2 Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Tricia M McKeever, Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG5 1PB, UK; tricia.mckeever{at}nottingham.ac.uk

Abstract

A matched cohort study was conducted to determine the incidence of falls in patients following a diagnosis of COPD using a UK primary care database. 44 400 patients with COPD and 175 545 non-COPD subjects were identified. The incidence rate of fall per 1000 person-years in patients with COPD was higher (44.9; 95% CI 44.1 to 45.8) compared with non-COPD subjects (24.1; 95% CI 23.8 to 24.5) (P<0.0001). Patients with COPD were 55% more likely to have an incident record of fall than non-COPD subjects (adjusted HR, 1.55; 95% CI 1.50 to 1.59). The greater falls risk in patients with COPD needs consideration and modifiable factors addressed.

  • copd epidemiology

https://doi.org/10.1136/thoraxjnl-2017-211008

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors AH was involved in study design, performed the majority of data processing and analysis, and drafted the article. CEB and TMM devised the original idea and contributed to the design of the study and analysis of the data. JEG contributed to the initial stages of data organisation. All authors were involved in drafting and revising the research letter and approved the letter before submission. CEB and TMM are guarantors.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Ethics approval The Cegedim Strategic Data Medical Research Scientific Review Committee (14-066).

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

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