Alcohol intake, marijuana use, and sleep deprivation on the risk of falls occurring at home among young and middle-aged adults: a case- crossover study

Aim This study investigated whether hospitalised fall-related injuries among young and middle-aged adults were associated with short term effects of alcohol intake, marijuana use and sleep deprivation. Method A case-crossover design was used to study 690 adults (aged 20 to 64 years) admitted to public hospitals within 48 hours of a fall-related injury, occurring at home, in three regions of New Zealand during August 2008 to December 2009. A matched-pair interval method of analysis was used to compare alcohol intake, marijuana use and sleep deprivation before the event with similar information in two control periods: 24 hours-before and 1 week-before the time of injury. Results After adjustment for other paired exposures, the estimated risk of injury was substantially higher after consuming alcohol within the preceding 6 hours, with a dose response gradient. After adjusting for confounding variables, the data did not support a significantly elevated risk of fall-related injury associated with sleep deprivation (<6 hours sleep in the preceding 24 hours), or marijuana use in the preceding 3 hours. Conclusion The findings support the expansion of efforts to reduce the harmful effects of alcohol intake in the home environment.