What are the risk factors for falls in older community-dwelling adults and what interventions are effective in preventing them?
Balance and Strength Trainer, a meta-analysis (JAMA 2024, PMID 38536167) — exercise interventions were associated with 655 falls per 1000 patient-years in intervention groups vs 850 in control groups (RR 0.77). Programs to stop medications associated with falls did not show a significant reduction in falls when studied in isolation.
Source: JAMA 2024, PMID 38536167 ↗ · Research map · How Magellan grades evidence · evidence confidence: high
JAMA · 2024 · PMID 38536167 · DOI 10.1001/jama.2024.1416
Exercise, multifactorial interventions, cataract surgery, podiatry, and environmental modifications can reduce falls in older adults.
The question
What are the risk factors for falls in older community-dwelling adults and what interventions are effective in preventing them?
What they tested
Not applicable; this is a review article summarizing existing research.
How they did it
This review synthesized findings from meta-analyses of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and quasi-randomized trials to assess risk factors and the effectiveness of various fall prevention interventions in older community-dwelling adults.
What they found
Major modifiable risk factors include gait and balance disorders, orthostatic hypotension, sensory impairment, medications, and environmental hazards. Exercise interventions were associated with 655 falls per 1000 patient-years in intervention groups vs 850 in control groups (RR 0.77). Multifactorial interventions were associated with 1784 falls per 1000 patient-years in intervention groups vs 2317 in control groups (RR 0.77). Other effective interventions included cataract surgery (RR 0.68), multicomponent podiatry interventions (RR 0.77), and environmental modifications for high-risk individuals (RR 0.74). Programs to stop medications associated with falls did not show a significant reduction in falls when studied in isolation.
| Exercise Intervention | 655 | |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Exercise Control | 850 | |
| Multifactorial Intervention | 1784 | |
| Multifactorial Control | 2317 |
Comparison of fall rates per 1000 patient-years between intervention and control groups for exercise and multifactorial fall prevention strategies.
What it means
Functional exercises to improve leg strength and balance are recommended for fall prevention in average-risk to high-risk populations. Multifactorial risk reduction, based on systematic clinical assessment for modifiable risk factors, may reduce fall rates among those at high risk.
Limitations
The abstract does not explicitly state limitations of the review itself, but rather summarizes findings from other studies.
Where the published abstract does not list limitations, we say so rather than inventing them. Read the full paper on PubMed before drawing conclusions.
The paper at a glance
| Title | Risk Assessment and Prevention of Falls in Older Community-Dwelling Adults: A Review |
|---|---|
| Journal | JAMA |
| Year | 2024 |
| PMID | 38536167 ↗ |
| DOI | 10.1001/jama.2024.1416 ↗ |
| Topic | Muscle, strength & physical function |
Read the source: PubMed record (authors, abstract, full citation) ↗ · Publisher via doi.org ↗
Where Magellan uses this paper
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Balance and Strength Trainer
High-certainty evidence from large Cochrane and WHO meta-analyses shows that exercise programs which challenge balance and are performed at a sufficient dose (roughly 3+ hours per week) reduce the rate of falls in community-dwelling older adults by about 20-24%, with the largest effects from balance-and-functional…
Balance and strength trainers are exercise tools and structured programs that deliver progressive…
Research describes the compound or intervention studied. It is not a claim about any specific product.
Cite this page
These citations point at this summary. To cite the original paper with its full author list, use the PubMed record or doi.org.
Magellan Longevity. (2026). What are the risk factors for falls in older community-dwelling adults and what interventions are effective in preventing them? [Plain-English summary of JAMA 2024, PMID 38536167, DOI 10.1001/jama.2024.1416]. Magellan Longevity. https://magellanlongevity.com/study/d38536167.html@misc{magellan_d38536167,
title = {What are the risk factors for falls in older community-dwelling adults and what interventions are effective in preventing them?},
author = {{Magellan Longevity}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://magellanlongevity.com/study/d38536167.html}},
note = {Plain-English summary of PubMed PMID 38536167; DOI 10.1001/jama.2024.1416; JAMA 2024. Reviewed by Gabriel Radu, DO},
urldate = {2026-08-11}
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