La version franco-canadienne du « STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology » (STROBE) Statement : L’outil STROBE

Risk factors for recurrent falls in older adults: A systematic review with meta-analysis

Older adults who fall recurrently (i.e., 2 or more falls/year) are at risk of functional decline and mortality. Understanding which risk factors for recurrent falls are most important will inform secondary fall prevention strategies that can reduce recurrent falls risk. Thus, we conducted a systematic review with meta-analysis to determine the relative risk of recurrent falls for different types of falls risk factors. MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL databases were searched on April 25, 2019 (Prospero Registration: CRD42019118888). We included peer-reviewed prospective studies which examined risk factors that contributed to recurrent falls in adults aged ≥ 60 years. Using the falls risk classification system of Lord and colleagues, we classified each risk factor into one of the following domains: 1) balance and mobility; 2) environmental; 3) psychological; 4) medical; 5) medication; 6) sensory and neuromuscular; or 7) sociodemographic. We calculated the summary relative risk (RR) for each domain and evaluated the risk of bias and quality of reporting. Twenty-two studies were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Four domains predicted recurrent falls: balance and mobility (RR:1.32;95 % CI:[1.10, 1.59]), medication (RR:1.53;95 % CI:[1.11, 2.10]), psychological (RR:1.35;95 % CI:[1.03, 1.78]), and sensory and neuromuscular (RR:1.51;95 % CI:[1.18, 1.92]). Each of these four domains can be viewed as a marker of frailty. The risk of bias was low, and the study quality was high (minimum:19/22). Older adults with markers of frailty are up to 53 % more likely to experience recurrent falls. Strategies that identify and resolve frailty markers should be a frontline approach to preventing recurrent falls.

Risk factors for recurrent falls in older adults: a study protocol for a systematic review with meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Older adults who fall recurrently (i.e., >1 fall/year) are at risk for functional decline and mortality. Key risk factors for recurrent falls in community-dwelling older adults are not well established due to methodological limitations, such as recall bias. A better understanding of the risk factors for recurrent falls will aid in refining clinical practice guidelines for secondary fall prevention strategies. The primary objective of this systematic review with meta-analysis is to examine the risk factors for recurrent falls in prospective studies among community-dwelling older adults.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

A comprehensive search for articles indexed in MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO and CINAHL databases as well as grey literature was conducted on April 25, 2019. We will use MeSH and keyword search terms around the following topics: falls, recurrence, fall-risk, ageing and prospective studies. Prospective studies with monthly falls monitoring for 12 months, investigating risk factors for recurrent falls in older adults will be included. One author will complete the search. Two authors will remove duplicates and screen the titles and abstracts for their potential inclusion against the eligibility criteria. Two authors will screen the full texts and extract the data using a piloted extraction sheet. Included studies will be evaluated for the risk of bias with the Joanna Briggs Institute Prevalence Critical Appraisal tools. The quality of reporting will be determined with the Strengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology. The data extraction will include study characteristics as well as sociodemographic, balance and mobility, sensory and neuromuscular, psychological, medical, medication and environmental factors. The results will be presented via figures, summary tables, meta-analysis (when possible) and narrative summaries.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

No ethics approval will be required. Findings will be disseminated through publication and media.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42019118888; Pre-results.