IMPORTANCEWith the global population aging, falls and fall-related injuries are ubiquitous, and several clinical practice guidelines for falls prevention and management for individuals 60 years or older have been developed. A systematic evaluation of the recommendations and agreement level is lacking.OBJECTIVES To perform a systematic review of clinical practice guidelines for falls prevention and management for adults 60 years or older in all settings (eg, community, acute care, and nursing homes), evaluate agreement in recommendations, and identify potential gaps. EVIDENCE REVIEW A systematic review following Preferred Reporting Items for SystematicReviews and Meta-analyses statement methods for clinical practice guidelines on fall prevention and management for older adults was conducted (updated July 1, 2021) using MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, PEDro, and Epistemonikos databases. Medical Subject Headings search terms were related to falls, clinical practice guidelines, management and prevention, and older adults, with no restrictions on date, language, or setting for inclusion. Three independent reviewers selected records for full-text examination if they followed evidence-and consensus-based processes and assessed the quality of the guidelines using Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation II (AGREE-II) criteria. The strength of the recommendations was evaluated using Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation scores, and agreement across topic areas was assessed using the Fleiss κ statistic. FINDINGSOf 11 414 records identified, 159 were fully reviewed and assessed for eligibility, and 15 were included. All 15 selected guidelines had high-quality AGREE-II total scores (mean [SD], 80.1% [5.6%]), although individual quality domain scores for clinical applicability (mean [SD], 63.4% [11.4%]) and stakeholder (clinicians, patients, or caregivers) involvement (mean [SD], 76.3% [9.0%]) were lower. A total of 198 recommendations covering 16 topic areas in 15 guidelines were identified after screening 4767 abstracts that proceeded to 159 full texts. Most (Ն11) guidelines strongly recommended performing risk stratification, assessment tests for gait and balance, fracture and osteoporosis management, multifactorial interventions, medication review, exercise promotion, environment modification, vision and footwear correction, referral to physiotherapy, and cardiovascular interventions. The strengths of the recommendations were inconsistent for vitamin D supplementation, addressing cognitive factors, and falls prevention education. Recommendations on use of hip protectors and digital technology or wearables were often missing. None of the examined guidelines included a patient or caregiver panel in their deliberations.

The decrease of physical abilities and functional decline that can be caused by musculoskeletal conditions such as sarcopenia, can lead to higher levels of dependency and disability. Therefore, it may influence patient reported outcome measures (PROM), such as the health‐related quality of life (HRQoL). The purpose of this systematic review and meta‐analysis is to provide a comprehensive overview of the relationship between sarcopenia and HRQoL. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) were followed throughout the whole process of this work. A protocol was previously published on PROSPERO. The electronic databases MEDLINE, Scopus, Allied and Complementary Medicine (AMED), EMB Review – ACP Journal Club, EBM Review ‐ Cochrane Central of Register of Controlled Trials and APA PsychInfo were searched until October 2022 for observational studies reporting a HRQoL assessment in both sarcopenic and non‐sarcopenic individuals. Study selection and data extraction were carried out by two independent researchers. Meta‐analysis was performed using a random effect model, reporting an overall standardized mean difference (SMD) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) between sarcopenic and non‐sarcopenic individuals. Study quality was measured using the Newcastle‐Ottawa Scale and the strength of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) tool. The search strategy identified 3725 references from which 43 observational studies were eligible and included in this meta‐synthesis study. A significantly lower HRQoL was observed for sarcopenic individuals compared with non‐sarcopenic ones (SMD −0.76; 95% CI −0.95; −0.57). Significant heterogeneity was associated with the model (I2 = 93%, Q test P‐value <0.01). Subgroup analysis showed a higher effect size when using the specific questionnaire SarQoL compared with generic questionnaires (SMD −1.09; 95% CI −1.44; −0.74 with the SarQoL versus −0.49; 95% CI −0.63; −0.36 with generic tools; P‐value for interaction <0.01). A greater difference of HRQoL between sarcopenic and non‐sarcopenic was found for individuals residing in care homes compared with community‐dwelling individuals (P‐value for interaction <0.001). No differences were found between age groups, diagnostic techniques, and continents/regions. The level of evidence was rated as moderate using the GRADE assessment. This systematic review and meta‐analysis combining 43 observational studies shows that HRQoL is significantly reduced in sarcopenic patients. The use of disease‐specific HRQoL instruments may better discriminate sarcopenic patients with respect to their quality of life.

No abstract

Background our aim was to assess the effectiveness of medication review and deprescribing interventions as a single intervention in falls prevention. Methods   Design systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources Medline, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL, PsycINFO until 28 March 2022. Eligibility criteria randomised controlled trials of older participants comparing any medication review or deprescribing intervention with usual care and reporting falls as an outcome. Study records title/abstract and full-text screening by two reviewers. Risk of bias Cochrane Collaboration revised tool. Data synthesis results reported separately for different settings and sufficiently comparable studies meta-analysed. Results forty-nine heterogeneous studies were included. Community meta-analyses of medication reviews resulted in a risk ratio (RR) of 1.05 (95% confidence interval, 0.85–1.29, I2 = 0%, 3 studies(s)) for number of fallers, in an RR = 0.95 (0.70–1.27, I2 = 37%, 3 s) for number of injurious fallers and in a rate ratio (RaR) of 0.89 (0.69–1.14, I2 = 0%, 2 s) for injurious falls. Hospital meta-analyses assessing medication reviews resulted in an RR = 0.97 (0.74–1.28, I2 = 15%, 2 s) and in an RR = 0.50 (0.07–3.50, I2 = 72% %, 2 s) for number of fallers after and during admission, respectively. Long-term care meta-analyses investigating medication reviews or deprescribing plans resulted in an RR = 0.86 (0.72–1.02, I2 = 0%, 5 s) for number of fallers and in an RaR = 0.93 (0.64–1.35, I2 = 92%, 7 s) for number of falls. Conclusions the heterogeneity of the interventions precluded us to estimate the exact effect of medication review and deprescribing as a single intervention. For future studies, more comparability is warranted. These interventions should not be implemented as a stand-alone strategy in falls prevention but included in multimodal strategies due to the multifactorial nature of falls. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42020218231