Associations among frailty status, hypertension, and fall risk in community-dwelling older adults

Objectives: Frailty and hypertension often coexist in older adults, which may lead to fall risks. This study aimed to examine the relationship between frailty status, hypertension, and fall risk. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 401 older adults were conveniently recruited from communities in Wuxi, China, between September 2022 and November 2022. The fall risk self-assessment checklist from the Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths & Injuries (STEADI) Toolkit was used to evaluate their fall risks. The FRAIL scale questionnaire was used to assess frailty status. Participants’ demographic information and comorbidities were collected. Multivariate logistic regression, generalized additive model, and smooth curve fitting were used to analyze the association between frailty, hypertension, and fall risk. Results: Frailty had a strong association with increased prevalence of fall risk among the participants (OR 8.52, 95% CI 3.21–22.57; P