Global prevalence of falls in the older adults: a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background With increasing life expectancy, declining mortality, and birth rates, the world's geriatric population is increasing. Falls in the older people are one of the most common and serious problems. Injuries from falls can be fatal or non-fatal and physical or psychological, leading to a reduction in the ability to perform activities of daily living. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of falls in the older people through systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods In this systematic review and meta-analysis, the data from studies on the prevalence of falls in the older people in the world were extracted in the databases of Scopus, Web of Science (WoS), PubMed and Science Direct, and Google Scholar, Magiran and Scientific Information Database (SID) without any time limit until August 2020. To analyze the eligible studies, the stochastic effects model was used, and the heterogeneity of the studies with the I2 index was investigated. Data analysis was conducted with Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software (Version 2). Results In the review of 104 studies with a total sample size of 36,740,590, the prevalence of falls in the older people of the world was 26.5% (95% CI 23.4–29.8%). The highest rate of prevalence of falls in the older people was related to Oceania with 34.4% (95% CI 29.2–40%) and America with 27.9% (95% CI 22.4–34.2%). The results of meta-regression indicated a decreasing trend in the prevalence of falls in the older people of the world by increasing the sample size and increasing the research year (P < 0.05). Conclusion The problem of falls, as a common problem with harmful consequences, needs to be seriously considered by policymakers and health care providers to make appropriate plans for preventive interventions to reduce the rate of falls in the older people.

Health trajectories of elderly living in French senior housing: a longitudinal perspective

“…Moreover, the risk of hospitalization was also reduced by half, as previously described in a study by Park et al 23 (even though to a lesser extent). Finally, we observed a decreased risk of falling that is associated with a higher risk of death in the scientific literature 30 . Previous cohort studies have suggested an increased risk of mortality in senior housing compared with communities in US 20,21 , Australia 19 or Ireland 22 .…”

“…Moreover, the risk of hospitalization was also reduced by half, as previously described in a study by Park et al 23 (even though to a lesser extent). Finally, we observed a decreased risk of falling that is associated with a higher risk of death in the scientific literature 30 .…”

Falls prechemotherapy and toxicity‐related hospitalization during adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer in older women: Results from the prospective multicenter HOPE trial

“…Third, we only focused on toxicity‐related hospitalizations and thus our results should be interpreted with caution as we did not include other causes of hospitalizations in this analysis. Fourth, in this cohort, only 12.2% of patients reported a positive fall history, which is a relatively lower proportion than reported in other cohorts of older adults 60–62 . This speaks either to limitations of retrospective recall, as fall history is collected through self‐report, or a possibility that our study did not catch the full extent of the fall history in this study population.…”

Taekwondo Poomsae practise in slow motion and the balance of healthy older adults: A Pre‐Experimental Study

“…Falls are one of the leading causes of injuries and death in older adults worldwide (Shyamala et al., 2015; World Health Organization, 2021). Globally, the prevalence of falls in older adults above 65 years was reported as 26.5% (Salari et al., 2022). Deficits in gait and balance, polypharmacy, and history of falls are some of the major risk factors for falls in older adults (Ambrose et al., 2013).…”