Exercise to Prevent Falls in Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment

Abstract

Falls are the third leading cause of chonic disability worldwide. Exercise can effectively reduce falls in community-dwelling older adults; the Cochrane Collaboration explicitly identifies a program of balance and strength training exercises has the strongest evidence for falls reduction. However, to date, there is a lack of consistent evidence for fall prevention in older adults with cognitive impairment – a population at high-risk for falls. Approximately 60% of older people with cognitive impairment fall annually; this incidence is approximately twice that of cognitively intact peers.