Dataset Information

Effectiveness of exercise on fall prevention in community-dwelling older adults: a 2-year randomized controlled study of 914 women.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Communal exercise interventions may help prevent falls and injuries. However, pragmatic trials demonstrating the effectiveness of such strategies are sparse.

Methods

We determined whether a cost-free 12-month admission to the city's recreational sports facilities including initial 6 months of supervised weekly gym and Tai Chi sessions decreases the number of falls and related injuries. The mean (SD) follow-up time was 22·6 (4.8) months in 2016-19. A total of 914 women from a population-based sample with a mean age of 76.5 (SD 3.3, range 71.1-84.8) years were randomized into exercise intervention (n = 457) and control (n = 457) groups. Fall information was collected through biweekly short message (SMS) queries and fall diaries. Altogether 1,380 falls were recorded for the intention-to-treat analysis, with 1,281 (92.8%) being verified by telephone.

Results

A 14.3% fall rate reduction was detected in the exercise group (Incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 0.86; CI 95% 0.77-0.95) compared with the control group. Approximately half of the falls caused moderate (n = 678, 52.8%) or severe (n = 61, 4.8%) injury. In total, 13.2% (n = 166) of falls (including 73 fractures) required medical consultation with a 38% lower fracture rate in the exercise group (IRR = 0.62; CI 95% 0.39-0.99). Overall, the greatest reduction of 41% (IRR = 0.59; CI 95% 0.36-0.99) was observed in falls with severe injury and pain.

Conclusions

A community-based approach for a 6-month exercise period combined with a 12-month free use of sports premises can reduce falls, fractures and other fall-related injuries in aging women.

SUBMITTER: Rikkonen T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10128158 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Effectiveness of exercise on fall prevention in community-dwelling older adults: a 2-year randomized controlled study of 914 women.

Rikkonen Toni T Sund Reijo R Koivumaa-Honkanen Heli H Sirola Joonas J Honkanen Risto R Kröger Heikki H

Age and ageing 20230401 4

<h4>Background</h4>Communal exercise interventions may help prevent falls and injuries. However, pragmatic trials demonstrating the effectiveness of such strategies are sparse.<h4>Methods</h4>We determined whether a cost-free 12-month admission to the city's recreational sports facilities including initial 6 months of supervised weekly gym and Tai Chi sessions decreases the number of falls and related injuries. The mean (SD) follow-up time was 22·6 (4.8) months in 2016-19. A total of 914 women f ...[more]

PMID: 37097767

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Project description:IntroductionFall rates and fall-related injuries among community-dwelling older adults (≥65 years) are expected to increase rapidly, due to the aging population worldwide. Fall prevention programs (FPPs), consisting of strength and balance exercises, have been proven effective in reducing fall rates among older adults. However, these FPPs have not reached their full potential as most programs are under-enrolled. Therefore, this study aims to identify promising strategies that promote participation in FPPs among community-dwelling older adults.MethodsThis is an exploratory qualitative study. Previously, barriers and facilitators for participation in FPPs by older adults had been identified. Next, six strategies had been designed using the Intervention Mapping approach: (1) reframing; (2) informing about benefits; (3) raising awareness of risks; (4) involving social environment; (5) offering tailored intervention; (6) arranging practicalities. Strategies were validated during semi-structured interviews with community-dwelling older adults (n = 12) at risk of falling. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed following a qualitative thematic methodology, with a hybrid approach.ResultsAll strategies were considered important by at least some of the respondents. However, two strategies stood out: (1) reframing 'aging' and 'fall prevention': respondents preferred to be approached differently, taking a 'life course' perspective about falls, and avoiding confronting words; and (2) 'informing about benefits' (e.g., 'living independently for longer'); which was mentioned to improve the understanding of the relevance of participating in FPPs. Other strategies were considered important to take into account too, but opinions varied more strongly.DiscussionThis study provides insight into potential strategies to stimulate older adults to participate in FPPs. Results suggest that reframing 'aging' and 'fall prevention' may facilitate the dialogue about fall prevention, by communicating differently about the topic, for example 'staying fit and healthy', while focusing on the benefits of participating in FPPs. Gaining insight into the strategies' effectiveness and working mechanisms is an area for future research. This could lead to practical recommendations and help professionals to enhance older adults' participation in FPPs. Currently, the strategies are further developed to be applied and evaluated for effectiveness in multiple field labs in a central Dutch region (Utrecht).

Project description:ObjectiveTo determine whether, and to what extent, fall prevention exercise interventions for older community dwelling people are effective in preventing different types of fall related injuries.Data sourcesElectronic databases (PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, and CINAHL) and reference lists of included studies and relevant reviews from inception to July 2013.Study selectionRandomised controlled trials of fall prevention exercise interventions, targeting older (>60 years) community dwelling people and providing quantitative data on injurious falls, serious falls, or fall related fractures.Data synthesisBased on a systematic review of the case definitions used in the selected studies, we grouped the definitions of injurious falls into more homogeneous categories to allow comparisons of results across studies and the pooling of data. For each study we extracted or calculated the rate ratio of injurious falls. Depending on the available data, a given study could contribute data relevant to one or more categories of injurious falls. A pooled rate ratio was estimated for each category of injurious falls based on random effects models.Results17 trials involving 4305 participants were eligible for meta-analysis. Four categories of falls were identified: all injurious falls, falls resulting in medical care, severe injurious falls, and falls resulting in fractures. Exercise had a significant effect in all categories, with pooled estimates of the rate ratios of 0.63 (95% confidence interval 0.51 to 0.77, 10 trials) for all injurious falls, 0.70 (0.54 to 0.92, 8 trials) for falls resulting in medical care, 0.57 (0.36 to 0.90, 7 trials) for severe injurious falls, and 0.39 (0.22 to 0.66, 6 trials) for falls resulting in fractures, but significant heterogeneity was observed between studies of all injurious falls (I(2)=50%, P=0.04).ConclusionsExercise programmes designed to prevent falls in older adults also seem to prevent injuries caused by falls, including the most severe ones. Such programmes also reduce the rate of falls leading to medical care.

Dataset Information

Effectiveness of exercise on fall prevention in community-dwelling older adults: a 2-year randomized controlled study of 914 women.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Effectiveness of exercise on fall prevention in community-dwelling older adults: a 2-year randomized controlled study of 914 women.

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