• Ryoji Tominaga, Shingo Fukuma, Shin Yamazaki, Miho Sekiguchi, Koji Otani, Shin-Ichi Kikuchi, Sho Sasaki, Susumu Kobayashi, Shunichi Fukuhara, and Konno Shin-Ichi S.
• *Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University †Department of Healthcare Epidemiology, Kyoto University School of Public Health ‡Center for Innovative Research for Communities and Clinical Excellence (CIRC2LE), Fukushima Medical University §Center for Environmental Health Science, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Japan.
• Spine. 2016 Aug 1; 41 (15): 1232-8.

Study DesignA cohort study using data from the Locomotive Syndrome and Health Outcome in Aizu Cohort Study, a population-based prospective cohort study of residents of the towns of Tadami and Minamiaizu in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to clarify the association between kyphotic posture and falls, and to investigate the presence or absence of sex differences.Summary Of Background DataIn our literature review, we found no studies focusing on sex differences in the association between kyphotic posture and falls.MethodsWe included subjects aged more than 40 years who participated in annual health check-ups from 2009 to 2010. We analyzed the effects of kyphotic posture, measured using the wall-occiput test (WOT), on falls, adjusting for potential confounders, such as age, body mass index, symptoms of depression, sedative medication, and other comorbidities.ResultsWe enrolled a total of 1418 subjects into primary analyses (593 men, 825 women; mean [standard deviation] age, 68.1 [7.7] yrs). We then stratified subjects into the following groups according to the degree of kyphotic posture: nonkyphotic posture (n = 1138, 80.3%), mild kyphotic posture (n = 172, 12.1%), and severe kyphotic posture (n = 108, 7.6%). We observed no significant difference in the severity of kyphotic posture between men and women (P = 0.18). Overall, 284 subjects (20.0%) experienced at least one fall during the one-year period. After adjustment for potential confounders using a logistic regression model, we observed a significant association between severe kyphotic posture and falls for men [odds ratio (OR) 2.14 (1.01-4.57); P = 0.048]. In contrast, we observed no significant association for women [OR for severe kyphotic posture 0.80 (0.43-1.50), OR for mild kyphotic posture 0.91 (0.53-1.57)].ConclusionWe identified a sex difference in the association between kyphotic posture and falls in community-dwelling adults. In particular, severe kyphotic posture might only increase the incidence of falls in men.Level Of Evidence3.

27 keywords...

hide…