Does pride really come before a fall? Longitudinal analysis of older English adults

AbstractObjectiveTo test whether high levels of reported pride are associated with subsequent falls.DesignSecondary analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) dataset.SettingMulti-wave longitudinal sample of non-institutionalised older English adults.ParticipantsELSA cohort of 6415 participants at wave 5 (baseline, 2010/11), of whom 4964 were available for follow-up at wave 7 (follow-up, 2014/15).Main outcome measuresSelf reported pride at baseline (low/moderate/high) and whether the participant had reported having fallen during the two years before follow-up.ResultsThe findings did not support the contention that “pride comes before a fall.” Unadjusted estimates indicate that the odds of reported falls were significantly lower for people with high pride levels compared with those who had low pride (odds ratio 0.69, 95% confidence interval 0.58 to 0.81, P