Depressive Symptoms Are Associated With Recurrent Fall Risk in Community‐Dwelling Japanese People Aged 40–74 Years: The Murakami Cohort Study

ABSTRACT Aim Individuals with depressive symptoms have been reported to have an increased risk of falls; however, information on whether the association is severity‐dependent is lacking. This study aimed to examine associations of depressive symptoms with recurrent fall risk in middle‐aged and older people. Methods This 5‐year cohort study included 6703 community‐dwelling Japanese people aged 40–74 years. A baseline self‐administrated questionnaire survey was conducted in 2011–2013. Depressive symptoms were evaluated using the 11‐item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale ( CES ‐D). CES ‐D scores were categorized as < 7 (normal), ≥ 7 to < 9, and ≥ 9. Information on falls in the year preceding the 5‐year survey was collected, wherein falls occurring two or more times were classified as recurrent falls. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to obtain odds ratios ( ORs ) adjusted for potential confounders. Results The mean age of participants was 59.7 years, and 256 recurrent falls were reported. Higher CES ‐D scores were associated with higher recurrent fall risk (adjusted P for trend < 0.0001), with the highest CES ‐D score group having a significantly higher OR (1.97, 95% CI : 1.44–2.70) than the reference. When stratified by sex and age, higher CES ‐D scores were associated with higher recurrent fall risk in both men and women (adjusted P for trend = 0.0275 and 0.0001, respectively) and in < 65‐year and ≥ 65‐year groups (Adjusted P for trend = 0.0006 and 0.0144, respectively). Conclusion Depressive symptoms are severity‐dependently associated with higher recurrent fall risk in middle‐aged and older Japanese people. This association remained robust when analyzed by sex and age.