Footwear and Falls in the Home Among Older Individuals in the
MOBILIZE Boston Study Department of Medicine, Division of
Preventive and Behavioral Medicine Accidental Falls; Shoes
Behavioral Disciplines and Activities | Behavior and Behavior
Mechanisms | Community Health and Preventive Medicine |
Geriatrics | Preventative Medicine BACKGROUND: Whether certain
types of footwear, such as slippers, socks without shoes, and
going barefoot, increase the risk for falls among the elderly is
uncertain. Our purpose was to examine the relationship between
footwear and falls within the home in MOBILIZE Boston, a
prospective cohort study of falls etiology among non-
institutionalized women and men, mainly aged 70 years and older,
from the Boston MA, USA area. METHODS: The 765 participants were
from households randomly selected from town lists. They were
followed for a median of 27.5 months. At baseline, participants
were administered a questionnaire that included questions on
footwear usually worn, and were given a comprehe