As people get older, they may fall more often for a variety of
reasons including problems with balance, poor vision, and
dementia. Up to 30% may fall in a year. Although one in five
falls may require medical attention, less than one in 10 results
in a fracture. This review looked at the healthcare literature
to establish which fall prevention interventions are effective
for older people living in the community, and included 159
randomised controlled trials with 79,193 participants. Group and
home-based exercise programmes, usually containing some balance
and strength training exercises, effectively reduced falls, as
did Tai Chi. Overall, exercise programmes aimed at reducing
falls appear to reduce fractures. Multifactorial interventions
assess an individual's risk of falling, and then carry out
treatment or arrange referrals to reduce the identified risks.
Overall, current evidence shows that this type of intervention
reduces the number of falls in older people living in the
community but not the number of pe