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
. 2017 Nov;65(11):2480-2487.
doi: 10.1111/jgs.14960. Epub 2017 Jul 29.

Accelerometer-Measured Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity and Incidence Rates of Falls in Older Women

David M Buchner  1 , Eileen Rillamas-Sun  2 , Chongzhi Di  2 , Michael J LaMonte  3 , Stephen W Marshall  4 , Julie Hunt  2 , Yuzheng Zhang  2 , Dori E Rosenberg  5 , I-Min Lee  6 , Kelly R Evenson  4 , Amy H Herring  7 , Cora E Lewis  8 , Marcia L Stefanick  9 , Andrea Z LaCroix  10
Affiliations

Accelerometer-Measured Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity and Incidence Rates of Falls in Older Women

David M Buchner et al. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2017 Nov.

Abstract

Objectives: To examine whether moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) measured using accelerometry is associated with incident falls and whether associations differ according to physical function or history of falls.

Design: Prospective study with baseline data collection from 2012 to 2014 and 1 year of follow-up.

Setting: Women's Health Initiative participants living in the United States.

Participants: Ambulatory women aged 63 to 99 (N = 5,545).

Measurements: Minutes of MVPA per day measured using an accelerometer, functional status measured using the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), fall risk factors assessed using a questionnaire, fall injuries assessed in a telephone interview, incident falls ascertained from fall calendars.

Results: Incident rate ratios (IRRs) revealed greater fall risk in women in the lowest quartile of MVPA compared to those in the highest (IRR = 1.18, 95% confidence interval = 1.01-1.38), adjusted for age, race and ethnicity, and fall risk factors. Fall rates were not significantly associated with MVPA in women with high SPPB scores (9-12) or one or fewer falls in the previous year, but in women with low SPPB scores (≤ 8) or a history of frequent falls, fall rates were higher in women with lower MVPA levels than in those with higher levels (interaction P < .03 and < .001, respectively). Falls in women with MVPA above the median were less likely to involve injuries requiring medical treatment (9.9%) than falls in women with lower MVPA levels (13.0%) (P < .001).

Conclusion: These findings indicate that falls are not more common or injurious in older women who engage in higher levels of MVPA. These findings support encouraging women to engage in the amounts and types of MVPA that they prefer. Older women with low physical function or frequent falls with low levels of MVPA are a high-risk group for whom vigilance about falls prevention is warranted.

Keywords: accelerometer; cohort study; falls; older adults; physical activity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Associations of moderate/vigorous physical activity with incidence rate of falls stratified by physical functioning (top panels) and by history of past falls (bottom panels).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Bergen G, Stevens MR, Burns ER. Falls and Fall Injuries Among Adults Aged >/=65 Years - United States, 2014. MMWR Morb Mort Wkly Rep. 2016;65:993–998. - PubMed
    1. Gillespie LD, Robertson MC, Gillespie WJ, et al. Interventions for preventing falls in older people living in the community. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012;9 CD007146. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Moyer VA. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Prevention of falls in community-dwelling older adults: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. Ann Int Med. 2012;157:197–204. - PubMed
    1. Panel on Prevention of Falls in Older Persons AGS. British Geriatrics S. Summary of the Updated American Geriatrics Society/British Geriatrics Society clinical practice guideline for prevention of falls in older persons. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2011;59:148–157. - PubMed
    1. Mijnarends DM, Koster A, Schols JM, et al. Physical activity and incidence of sarcopenia: the population-based AGES-Reykjavik Study. Age Ageing. 2016;45:614–620. - PMC - PubMed