Objective To investigate the transition intensity and transition probabilities of fall states among middle-aged and older adults in China,and to assess the impact of potential risk factors on falls.Methods We utilized in the study data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study(CHARLS)and employed a multi-state Markov model(MSM)to analyze the transition intensity and probabilities between states of no falls or falls without treatment,falls requiring treatment,and death.Results A total of 14722 participants were enrolled,with a mean age of(59.4 years±9.7 years),and 47.9％were male.The median follow-up period was 9 years(interquartile range[IQR].7-9 years).At baseline,12381 participants(84.1％)reported no falls or falls without treatment,while 2341(15.9％)reported falls requiring treatment.Participants who experienced falls requiring treatment within one follow-up cycle had a 55.2％probability of not falling again or only falling without treatment in the subsequent two years,a 37.6％probability of continuing to experience falls requiring treatment,and a 7.2％probability of death.The risk of transitioning from a state of no falls or falls without treatment to falls requiring treatment increased by 8.6％for every 5-year increase in age.The risk was 35.1％higher for females compared to males.Rural residents had a 10.1％higher risk.Those who were divorced,separated,widowed,or never married had a 20.7％higher risk.Higher degrees of physical function impairment were associated with an increased risk.Depressive symptoms increased the risk by 31.6％.Having one chronic disease raised the risk by 9.6％,while multimorbidity led to a 28.8％increase in risk.Conclusion According to the findings of the study,falls are a dynamic process and emphasis should be given to fall prevention for older adults,individuals with a history of fall-related medical visits,those living alone,those with impaired physical function,and those with depressive symptoms.

Objective To explore the relationship between hearing loss and cognitive function in the elderly population through propensity score matching method.Methods We analyzed the data of 7605 participants aged 60 and above who were included in the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study(CHARLS).The non-substitutable 1∶1 nearest neighbor matching method without caliper value was used for propensity score matching and G-computation was used to estimate the average treatment effect(ATE)of hearing loss on all dimensions of cognitive function.Results Before matching,there were 3626(47.68%)women,with 1409(18.53%)of whom suffering from hearing loss and 3031(39.86%)of whom suffering from cognitive impairment.After matching,1409 subjects were included in the hearing loss group and 1409,in the normal hearing group,with both groups sharing similar distribution of basic demographic characteristics.The results for the average treatment effect of the population indicated that the cognitive function scores of the hearing loss group were lower than those of the normal hearing group,with the overall cognitive function being 0.593 points lower(95%confidence intervel[CI]:-0.916--0.257,P<0.001),orientation being 0.183 points lower(95%CI:-0.302--0.055,P=0.004),immediate memory being 0.150 points lower(95%CI:-0.218--0.085,P<0.001),and language skills being 0.178 points lower(95%CI:-0.303--0.058,P=0.006).The prevalence of cognitive impairment of the hearing loss group was 4.2%higher than that of the normal hearing group(95%CI:0.007-0.077,P=0.020).Conclusion Hearing loss adversely affects the orientation,memory,and language skills of the elderly population and forms a potential risk factor for cognitive impairment in the elderly population.