Dynapenic Abdominal Obesity, Single and Recurrent Falls in Older Brazilian Adults: Elsi-Brazil Results

Objective: Cross-sectional study to verify the association between dynapenic abdominal obesity and the occurrence of single and recurrent falls among Brazilian adults aged 50 years and over. Methods: Baseline data from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSI-Brazil), comprising 8374 individuals aged 50 years and over, were analyzed. Participants were categorized according to the report of falls, dynapenic abdominal obesity was determined by combining the presence of abdominal obesity (waist circumference) and dynapenia (handgrip strength). A multinomial regression adjusted for multiple variables was conducted. Results: The prevalence of a fall was 10.4% (95% CI: 9.7–11.2) and 10.8% for single and recurrent (95% CI: 9.9–11.9). Dynapenic abdominal obesity was associated with a single fall (OR: 1.3; 95% CI 1.1–1.7) and showed greater strength of association with recurrent falls (OR: 2.8; 95% CI 2.1–3.8). Conclusions: Our data showed that the coexistence of abdominal obesity and dynapenia in older adults creates additional challenges for aging.