[From the Cochrane Library: effective measures are available to prevent falls in the elderly]

Approximately 30% of people over 65 years of age and living in the community fall each year; the percentage is higher in institutions. A fifth of the incidents require medical attention. A Cochrane systematic review of 62 studies, encompassing 21,668 elderly people, showed that several interventions are effective in preventing falls, especially in people who have already fallen once, including multidisciplinary interventions targeting multiple risk factors, individually prescribed muscle strengthening combined with balance training at home, cardiac pacing for hypersensitivity of the sinus node, and withdrawal of psychotropic medication. Individually tailored interventions delivered by a health professional were more effective than standard or group-delivered programmes. Some potential interventions were of unknown effectiveness or unlikely to be beneficial. Examples of these are physical exercises, the use of dietary supplements and the correction of impaired vision.