The Relationship between Self-Rated Economic Status and Falls among the Elderly in Shandong Province, China.

(1) Background: Older people are more vulnerable and likely to have falls and the consequences of these falls place a heavy burden on individuals, families and society. Many factors directly or indirectly affect the prevalence of falls. The aims of this study were to understand the prevalence and risk factors of falls among the elderly in Shandong, China; the relationship between economic level and falls was also preliminary explored. (2) Methods: Using a multi-stage stratified sampling method, 7070 elderly people aged 60 and over were selected in Shandong Province, China. General characteristics and a self-rated economic status were collected through face to face interviews. Chi-square tests, rank sum tests and two logistic regression models were performed as the main statistical methods. (3) Results: 8.59% of participants reported that they had experienced at least one fall in the past half year. There was a significant difference in experienced falls regarding gender, residence, marital status, educational level, smoking, drinking, hypertension, diabetes, coronary disease, and self-reported hearing. The worse the self-rated economic status, the higher the risk of falling, (poor and worried about livelihood, OR = 3.60, 95%; CI = 1.76-7.35). (4) Conclusions: Women, hypertension, diabetes and self-reported hearing loss were identified as the risk factors of falls in the elderly. The difference of economic level affects the falls of the elderly in rural and urban areas. More fall prevention measures should be provided for the elderly in poverty.