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 .
Frailty and risk of falls, fracture, and mortality in older women: the study of osteoporotic fractures.
BACKGROUND A st and ard phenotype of frailty was associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes including mortality in a recent study of older adults . However , the predictive validity of this phenotype for fracture outcomes and across risk subgroups is uncertain . METHODS To determine whether a st and ard frailty phenotype was independently associated with risk of adverse health outcomes in older women and to evaluate the consistency of associations across risk subgroups defined by age and body mass index ( BMI ) , we ascertained frailty status in a cohort of 6724 women > or=69 years and followed them prospect ively for incident falls , fractures , and mortality . Frailty was defined by the presence of three or more of the following criteria : unintentional weight loss , weakness , self-reported poor energy , slow walking speed , and low physical activity . Incident recurrent falls were defined as at least two falls during the subsequent year . Incident fractures ( confirmed with x-ray reports ) , including hip fractures , and deaths were ascertained during an average of 9 years of follow-up . RESULTS After controlling for multiple confounders such as age , health status , medical conditions , functional status , depressive symptoms , cognitive function , and bone mineral density , frail women were subsequently at increased risk of recurrent falls ( multivariate odds ratio=1.38 , 95 % confidence interval [ CI ] , 1.02 - 1.88 ) , hip fracture ( multivariate hazards ratio [MHR]=1.40 , 95 % CI , 1.03 - 1.90 ) , any nonspine fracture ( MHR=1.25 , 95 % CI , 1.05 - 1.49 ) , and death ( MHR=1.82 , 95 % CI , 1.56 - 2.13 ) . The associations between frailty and these outcomes persisted among women > or=80 years . In addition , associations between frailty and an increased risk of falls , fracture , and mortality were consistently observed across categories of BMI , including BMI > or=30 kg/m2 . CONCLUSION Frailty is an independent predictor of adverse health outcomes in older women , including very elderly women and older obese women
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 .