Interventions to Prevent Falls in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation...

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Preventive Medicine
• Public Health

Background:

• Falls are a leading cause of injury, morbidity, and mortality in US adults aged 65 and older.
• In 2015, falls resulted in an estimated 33,000 deaths among older adults.
• Over 29 million falls were reported in 2014, with 37.5% requiring medical attention or causing activity restriction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an updated recommendation on preventing falls in community-dwelling older adults.
• To review evidence on the effectiveness and harms of primary care interventions for fall prevention.
• To inform clinical practice regarding fall prevention strategies for older adults.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of evidence on primary care-relevant interventions for fall prevention.
• Focused on community-dwelling adults aged 65 years or older without diagnosed osteoporosis or vitamin D deficiency.
• Evaluated effectiveness and harms of exercise, multifactorial interventions, and vitamin D supplementation.

Main Results:

• Exercise interventions demonstrate moderate benefits in preventing falls for at-risk older adults.
• Multifactorial interventions show a small benefit in fall prevention.
• Vitamin D supplementation showed no benefit in preventing falls and carries small to moderate harms.

Conclusions:

• Exercise interventions are recommended for fall prevention in at-risk older adults (B recommendation).
• Multifactorial interventions may be selectively offered, considering individual patient factors (C recommendation).
• Vitamin D supplementation is not recommended for fall prevention in this demographic (D recommendation).