Effects of Obesity and Age on Fall Risk – Implications for Safety Guidelines

Details

• Personal Author:
  Agnew M ; Hindman D ; Madigan M ; Nussbaum MA
• Description:
  Falls are a significant cause of occupational morbidity and mortality. The number of obese and obese older workers in the US is growing. Recent research indicates obese workers are at a higher risk of falls compared to non-obese workers, but the reasons for this higher risk are unclear. These reasons need to be better understood in order to develop strategies for fall prevention that are inclusive of the needs and characteristics of obese workers. Based upon this need, the goal of this application was to more fully characterize the effects of obesity on balance and risk of falls. Our work focused on falls caused by slips and trips, which are among the most commonly reported contributing factors to occupational falls. We also investigated young and older adults given growing number of older workers, and the potential for differential effects of obesity among these two demographics. Our overarching hypothesis was that balance and risk of falls from slips, trips, and loss of balance are adversely influenced by obesity, age, and their interaction. Balance and fall risk were assessed by estimating the risk of losing balance (due to slipping or tripping) as well as the ability to recovery balance once it is lost (after slipping or tripping). Our work investigated both components of fall risk (losing balance and recovering balance once it is lost) since they are distinct processes and may be differentially affected by obesity and age. Such differential effects would in turn suggest different intervention approaches. Our first aim was to determine the effects of age, obesity, and their interaction on the risk of slipping, tripping, and loss of balance during simulated construction work. Obesity did not increase the risk of slipping while walking among young and older adults, including during occupationally-relevant tasks of ramp walking and load carriage. Obesity did not increase the risk of tripping among young adults, but did increase the risk of tripping among older adults. Age did not increase the risk of slipping or tripping. Our second aim was to determine the effects of age, obesity, and their interaction on balance and balance recovery after slipping and tripping. Obesity increased the rate of falling after exposure to a laboratory-induced slip and trip, suggesting obesity adversely affects the ability to recover balance after it is lost. Age did not adversely affect the rate of falling after slipping. Obesity was also associated with a deficient compensatory stepping response after slipping and tripping, and lower strength relative to body mass at the ankle, knee, and hip. Both the compensatory stepping response and strength are to aspects of balance and fall prevention that are amenable to intervention. The results from this work clarify the reasons for the higher fall rate among obese individuals, and provide direction for subsequent work to develop fall prevention interventions. Data was also obtained that can be used to evaluate the expected effectiveness of established fall prevention safety guidelines among obese workers, and that that might be helpful in developing engineering/administrative controls have the potential to reduce the risk of falls. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidental Falls Accidents Age Factors Biomechanical Phenomena Occupational Health Occupational Injuries Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety
• Keywords:
  Age Factors Biomechanics Falls Injury Prevention Obesity Occupational Accidents Physiological Response Risk Factors Safety Practices Slips, Trips, And Falls STF Weight Factors

  More +
• Series:
  Grant Final Reports
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Final Grant Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 6 ; Texas ; Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OEP - Office of Extramural Programs
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-123
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20053968
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2019-100396
• Citation:
  Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, R01-OH-009880, 2015 Nov; :1-123
• Contact Point Address:
  Maury A. Nussbaum, 521 Whittemore Hall (MC 0118), 1185 Perry Street, Blacksburg, VA 24061
• Email:
  nussbaum@vt.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction
• Performing Organization:
  Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20110901
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20150831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4baee30b13f2dfe659477caca6e9d4982028622a4fa184a6fa578ffd46516e594faa5de0e18591707b73a62b00c341ad97eb29819c6758f911fd82b144f1a057
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/218789/cdc_218789_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.79 MB ]