Objective: To improve care for the elderly and avoid falls and associated injuries, examining fall risk factors and defining their components is crucial, especially for those who are infected with COVID-19. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of COVID-19 on the risk of falling in the elderly in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Subjects and methods: Eighty-six subjects (42 COVID-19 patients and 44 non-infected participants). The participants were selected from the central, western, and eastern provinces of Saudi Arabia. Their ages ranged from 60-75 years. Two groups of participants were formed: group A, the group infected with COVID-19, and group B, which included subjects not infected with COVID-19. The Missouri Alliance Fall Risk Assessment Tool for Home Care (MAHC-10) questionnaire was used to detect fall risk among the participants.
Results: This study showed that 47.6% of the participants who suffered from COVID-19 had a high falling risk, while only 18.2% of the non-affected participants had a high falling risk. So, there was a significant association between the risk of falling and COVID-19.
Conclusions: COVID-19 has a negative impact on the risk of falls in elderly people. So, the introduction of balance exercises to these subjects is of high importance to improve their balance and proprioception skills and decrease the fall risk.