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Relationship Between Vitamin D Status and Incidences of Falls Among the Elderly in Some South-Eastern Communities of Nigeria

Received: 4 January 2022     Accepted: 19 January 2022     Published: 26 January 2022
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Abstract

Background: Vitamin D has been known to play an important role in musculoskeletal health. As a result, it is postulated that low vitamin D status is responsible for falls in the elderly due to the genomic role of the vitamin on Vitamin-D-receptors (VDR) in muscle cells and its non-genomic role in calcium influx into muscles. Hence, the present study aimed to establish the relationship between serum vitamin D levels and fall events in the elderly to reduce morbidity. Methods: It was a prospective, case-controlled, and cross-sectional study of 89 patients aged ≥ 60 years that had experienced at least one fall in the previous 12 months in three rural communities of Enugu State and their 124 age-matched controls. Serum 25(OH)D was assayed by enzyme-linked immune-sorbent assay and the number of falls was obtained from interviewer-administered questionnaires. Acquired data were analyzed using descriptive and comparative statistical methods. Result: The mean serum 25(OH)D level of patients was significantly lower than that of controls (patients 24.6±7.2 ng/mL versus controls 56.0±9.2 ng/mL; p=0.0001), and showed a significant negative correlation with the number of falls in the elderly (r=-0.347, p=0.002). Nevertheless, no significant difference in serum 25(OH)D levels of male and female patients and control groups was observed (p>0.05). There was a statistically increasing number of falls with increasing age and decreasing serum 25(OH)D levels (p=0.0001) among the patients. Conclusion: It can be concluded from this study that serum 25(OH)D level is inversely related to the number of falls experienced by the elderly irrespective of gender.

Published in European Journal of Preventive Medicine (Volume 10, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ejpm.20221001.13
Page(s) 11-16
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Falls, Elderly, Vitamin D, Serum 25(OH)D

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Ezra Agbo, Collins Amadi, Chika Okwor, Ijeoma Meka, Adeyinka Akande, et al. (2022). Relationship Between Vitamin D Status and Incidences of Falls Among the Elderly in Some South-Eastern Communities of Nigeria. European Journal of Preventive Medicine, 10(1), 11-16. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejpm.20221001.13

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    ACS Style

    Ezra Agbo; Collins Amadi; Chika Okwor; Ijeoma Meka; Adeyinka Akande, et al. Relationship Between Vitamin D Status and Incidences of Falls Among the Elderly in Some South-Eastern Communities of Nigeria. Eur. J. Prev. Med. 2022, 10(1), 11-16. doi: 10.11648/j.ejpm.20221001.13

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    AMA Style

    Ezra Agbo, Collins Amadi, Chika Okwor, Ijeoma Meka, Adeyinka Akande, et al. Relationship Between Vitamin D Status and Incidences of Falls Among the Elderly in Some South-Eastern Communities of Nigeria. Eur J Prev Med. 2022;10(1):11-16. doi: 10.11648/j.ejpm.20221001.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ejpm.20221001.13,
      author = {Ezra Agbo and Collins Amadi and Chika Okwor and Ijeoma Meka and Adeyinka Akande and Promise Aloysius},
      title = {Relationship Between Vitamin D Status and Incidences of Falls Among the Elderly in Some South-Eastern Communities of Nigeria},
      journal = {European Journal of Preventive Medicine},
      volume = {10},
      number = {1},
      pages = {11-16},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ejpm.20221001.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejpm.20221001.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ejpm.20221001.13},
      abstract = {Background: Vitamin D has been known to play an important role in musculoskeletal health. As a result, it is postulated that low vitamin D status is responsible for falls in the elderly due to the genomic role of the vitamin on Vitamin-D-receptors (VDR) in muscle cells and its non-genomic role in calcium influx into muscles. Hence, the present study aimed to establish the relationship between serum vitamin D levels and fall events in the elderly to reduce morbidity. Methods: It was a prospective, case-controlled, and cross-sectional study of 89 patients aged ≥ 60 years that had experienced at least one fall in the previous 12 months in three rural communities of Enugu State and their 124 age-matched controls. Serum 25(OH)D was assayed by enzyme-linked immune-sorbent assay and the number of falls was obtained from interviewer-administered questionnaires. Acquired data were analyzed using descriptive and comparative statistical methods. Result: The mean serum 25(OH)D level of patients was significantly lower than that of controls (patients 24.6±7.2 ng/mL versus controls 56.0±9.2 ng/mL; p=0.0001), and showed a significant negative correlation with the number of falls in the elderly (r=-0.347, p=0.002). Nevertheless, no significant difference in serum 25(OH)D levels of male and female patients and control groups was observed (p>0.05). There was a statistically increasing number of falls with increasing age and decreasing serum 25(OH)D levels (p=0.0001) among the patients. Conclusion: It can be concluded from this study that serum 25(OH)D level is inversely related to the number of falls experienced by the elderly irrespective of gender.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Relationship Between Vitamin D Status and Incidences of Falls Among the Elderly in Some South-Eastern Communities of Nigeria
    AU  - Ezra Agbo
    AU  - Collins Amadi
    AU  - Chika Okwor
    AU  - Ijeoma Meka
    AU  - Adeyinka Akande
    AU  - Promise Aloysius
    Y1  - 2022/01/26
    PY  - 2022
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejpm.20221001.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ejpm.20221001.13
    T2  - European Journal of Preventive Medicine
    JF  - European Journal of Preventive Medicine
    JO  - European Journal of Preventive Medicine
    SP  - 11
    EP  - 16
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-8230
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejpm.20221001.13
    AB  - Background: Vitamin D has been known to play an important role in musculoskeletal health. As a result, it is postulated that low vitamin D status is responsible for falls in the elderly due to the genomic role of the vitamin on Vitamin-D-receptors (VDR) in muscle cells and its non-genomic role in calcium influx into muscles. Hence, the present study aimed to establish the relationship between serum vitamin D levels and fall events in the elderly to reduce morbidity. Methods: It was a prospective, case-controlled, and cross-sectional study of 89 patients aged ≥ 60 years that had experienced at least one fall in the previous 12 months in three rural communities of Enugu State and their 124 age-matched controls. Serum 25(OH)D was assayed by enzyme-linked immune-sorbent assay and the number of falls was obtained from interviewer-administered questionnaires. Acquired data were analyzed using descriptive and comparative statistical methods. Result: The mean serum 25(OH)D level of patients was significantly lower than that of controls (patients 24.6±7.2 ng/mL versus controls 56.0±9.2 ng/mL; p=0.0001), and showed a significant negative correlation with the number of falls in the elderly (r=-0.347, p=0.002). Nevertheless, no significant difference in serum 25(OH)D levels of male and female patients and control groups was observed (p>0.05). There was a statistically increasing number of falls with increasing age and decreasing serum 25(OH)D levels (p=0.0001) among the patients. Conclusion: It can be concluded from this study that serum 25(OH)D level is inversely related to the number of falls experienced by the elderly irrespective of gender.
    VL  - 10
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Chemical Pathology, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, Nigeria

  • Department of Chemical Pathology, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

  • Department of Chemical Pathology, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, Nigeria

  • Department of Chemical Pathology, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, Nigeria

  • Department of Chemical Pathology, University of Ilorin, Illorin, Nigeria

  • Everight Diagnostic and Laboratory Services Ltd, Abuja, Nigeria

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