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 .
Fall-risk screening test: a prospective study on predictors for falls in community-dwelling elderly.
This large prospect i ve cohort study was undertaken to construct a fall-risk model for elderly . The emphasis of the study rests on easily measurable predictors for any falls and recurrent falls . The occurrence of falls among 1285 community-dwelling elderly aged 65 years and over was followed during 1 year by means of a " fall calendar . " Physical , cognitive , emotional and social functioning preceding the registration of falls were studied as potential predictors of fall-risk . Previous falls , visual impairment , urinary incontinence and use of benzodiazepines were the strongest predictors identified in the risk profile model for any falls ( area under the curve [ AUC ] = 0.65 ) , whereas previous falls , visual impairment , urinary incontinence and functional limitations proved to be the strongest predictors in the model for recurrent falls ( AUC = 0.71 ) . The probability of recurrent falls for subsequent scores of the screening test ranged from 4.7 % ( 95 % Confidence Interval [ CI ] : 4.0 - 5.4 % ) to 46.8 % ( 95 % CI : 43.0 - 50.6 % ) . Our study provides a fall-risk screening test based on four easily measurable predictors that can be used for fall-risk stratification in community-dwelling elderly
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 .