Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Multicenter Study
. 2013 Jul;61(7):1080-8.
doi: 10.1111/jgs.12326. Epub 2013 Jun 17.

Objective measures of physical activity, fractures and falls: the osteoporotic fractures in men study

Jane A Cauley  1 , Stephanie L Harrison, Peggy M Cawthon, Kristine E Ensrud, Michelle E Danielson, Eric Orwoll, Dawn C Mackey
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Objective measures of physical activity, fractures and falls: the osteoporotic fractures in men study

Jane A Cauley et al. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2013 Jul.

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the association between objectively measured physical activity (PA), fractures, and falls.

Design: Longitudinal cohort study.

Setting: Six U.S. clinical sites.

Participants: Two thousand seven hundred thirty-one men with a mean age of 79.

Measurements: Total and active energy expenditure (EE) and minutes per day spent in sedentary and moderate intensity activities were measured for at least 5 days. Energy expended at a metabolic equivalent of greater than three was termed active EE. Incident nonspine fractures and falls were identified every 4 months.

Results: Seven hundred fifty-nine (28.2%) men fell at least once over 12 months of follow-up; 186 (6.8%) experienced one or more fractures over an average follow-up of 3.5 ± 0.9 years. The association between PA and falling varied according to age (P interaction = .02). Men younger than 80 with the lowest active EE had a lower risk of falling than men with the highest active EE (relative risk (RR) = 0.75; P trend = .08), whereas men aged 80 and older with the lowest active EE had a higher risk of falling than men with the highest active EE (RR = 1.43, P trend = .09). In multivariate models including health status, men in the lowest quintile of active EE had a significantly higher risk of fracture (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.82, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.10-3.00, P trend = .04) than men in highest quintile. Men with <33 min/d of moderate activity had a 70% greater risk of fracture (HR = 1.70, 95% CI = 1.03-2.80).

Conclusion: Age modifies the association between PA and falling. Interventions aimed at obtaining more than 30 minutes of moderate PA per day may reduce fractures, extending PA guidelines to the oldest old, the fastest-growing proportion of those aged 65 and older.

Keywords: exercise; falls; fractures; osteoporosis; physical activity; population studies.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Appendix, Figure 1
Appendix, Figure 1
Figure 1
Figure 1
Proportion of men who fell at least once over 12 months of follow-up stratified by age, < 80 years and men ≥ 80 years.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Rubenstein LZ. Falls in older people: Epidemiology, risk factors and strategies for prevention. Age Ageing. 2006 Sep;35(Suppl 2):ii37–ii41. - PubMed
    1. Masud T, Morris RO. Epidemiology of falls. Age Ageing. 2001 Nov;30(Suppl 4):3–7. - PubMed
    1. Tinetti ME, Kumar C. The patient who falls: “It's always a trade-off”. JAMA. 2010 Jan 20;303(3):258–66. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Website. Falls Among Older Adults: An Overview. 2012 http://wwwcdcgov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Falls/adultfallshtml Accessed....
    1. Grisso JA, Kelsey JL, Strom BL, et al. Risk factors for falls as a cause of hip fracture in women. The Northeast Hip Fracture Study Group. N Engl J Med. 1991 May 9;324(19):1326–31. - PubMed

Publication types