Skyve and Severance Publish "Study on Elderly Falls During the Pandemic" in SCIE Journal

Skyve Co., Ltd., a company specializing in orthopedic medical devices and digital healthcare, announced that it has conducted a joint study with Professor Park Kwangyu's team from the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Sinchon Severance Hospital and Professor Park Junyoung's team from the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Yongin Severance Hospital, demonstrating that there were significant changes in indoor fall patterns among the elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The results of this study have been recognized for their academic value and are scheduled for publication in the prestigious SCIE-indexed international journal in the field of geriatric medicine, "Aging Clinical and Experimental Research" (impact factor 3.4).

The joint research team analyzed a vast amount of clinical data from 2,433 patients aged 65 and older who visited university hospital emergency rooms with hip and femur fractures over approximately 12 years, from 2011 to 2022. To improve the accuracy of the study, the team introduced the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) technique, precisely adjusting for variables between patient groups to ensure reliability.

The results were unexpected. While it was generally predicted that restrictions on going out would increase the proportion of indoor activities and thus indoor falls, the actual data showed the opposite. The rate of indoor falls during the period of social distancing was 61.1%, which was significantly lower than the pre-COVID-19 rate of 67.7%.

The research team interpreted these findings by stating, "The unique circumstances of the pandemic had a complex impact on the range of daily activities and activity frequency among the elderly, leading to changes in the types of fracture incidents."

This study is significant in that it goes beyond simple trauma statistics to identify the correlation between changes in the social environment and elderly falls. In the future, it is expected to serve as important evidence for establishing safety management and fall prevention guidelines for the elderly in the event of similar infectious disease crises.

Skyve Co., Ltd. stated, "This study demonstrates the importance of data-driven healthcare solutions, which is what Skyve aims for," and added, "Based on the insights gained from this research, we will continue to introduce advanced medical devices and solutions to help prevent and rehabilitate fractures in the elderly."