[Guidance regarding exercise and daily life to prevent falls]

Falls, annually occurred to about 20% of elderly women in Japan, causes severe injuries such as femoral neck fracture. I assessed 111 dwelling elderly women by 7 questionnaires and found about 47% of those have risk of falls. To prevent falls, exercise including balance training such as Taiji Quan and enough nutrition are effective. Our studies declared that blood vitamin D concentration is highly correlated to muscle power and one-leg standing time. In Japan, approximately 148,100 elderly subjects are annually suffered from femoral neck fracture, in which 13.6% patients have become bed-ridden. So medical and welfare costs of falls consume about one trillion yen yearly. To prevent falls by exercise and daily life is economical and beneficial in advanced aged society.