ORs were generally higher for recurrent fallers than for all fallers .
This meta- analysis provides comprehensive evidence -based assessment of risk factors for falls in older people , confirming their multifactorial etiology .
Some nonspecific indicators of high baseline risk were also strong predictors of the risk of falling
BACKGROUND Falls are the main cause of accidental death in persons aged 65 years or older .
Late-life anemia is associated with increased risk of recurrent falls.
OBJECTIVES To examine whether anemia is associated with a higher incidence of recurrent falls . DESIGN Prospect i ve cohort study . SETTING Community-dwelling sample in The Netherl and s. PARTICIPANTS Three hundred ninety-four participants aged 65 to 88 from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam . MEASUREMENTS Anemia was defined according to World Health Organization criteria as a hemoglobin concentration less than 12 g/dL in women and less than 13 g/dL in men . Falls were prospect ively determined using fall calendars that participants filled out weekly for 3 years . Recurrent fallers were identified as those who fell at least two times within 6 months during the 3-year follow-up . RESULTS Of the 394 persons , 11.9 % ( 18 women and 29 men ) had anemia .  The incidence of recurrent falls was 38.3 % of anemic persons versus 19.6 % of nonanemic persons ( P=.004 ) . After adjustment for sex , age , body mass index , and diseases , anemia was significantly associated with a 1.91 times greater risk for recurrent falls ( 95 % confidence interval=1.09 - 3.36 ) . Poor physical function ( indicated by muscle strength , physical performance , and limitations ) partly mediated the association between anemia and incidence of recurrent falls . CONCLUSION Late-life anemia is common and associated with twice the risk of recurrent falls . Muscle weakness and poor physical performance appear to partly mediate this association
ORs were generally higher for recurrent fallers than for all fallers .
This meta- analysis provides comprehensive evidence -based assessment of risk factors for falls in older people , confirming their multifactorial etiology .
Some nonspecific indicators of high baseline risk were also strong predictors of the risk of falling
BACKGROUND Falls are the main cause of accidental death in persons aged 65 years or older .