OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to review the literature about the relevance of the whole body vibration (WBV) in decreasing the number of fractures in osteoporotic women. METHODS: Searches were performed by three independent researchers through the PubMed and PEDro databases. RESULTS: Only 0.1% of the publications with “Fracture and osteoporosis” have a relation with WBVexercise. The achievements have revealed a positive effect of this exercise in patients with risk factors for fractures like osteoporosis. Protocols were performed two to three times a week, from 6 up to 18 months, and with 12.6 up to 40 Hz as frequencies. Different tools were used to evaluate the effects of the WBV exercise in conditions that could cause fractures in postmenopausal women. CONCLUSIONS: Although the paucity of research regarding direct effects of WBV in decreasing fractures, WBV could be a feasible and effective way to modify well-recognized risk factors for falls and fractures, improvements in some aspects of neuromuscular function and balance. More studies have to be performed establish protocols with well controlled parameters.
Accidental Falls ; Exercise* ; Female ; Humans ; Osteoporosis* ; Risk Factors* ; Vibration*

Negative attitudes towards ageing are reported to be associated with greater functional impairment in older adults.There is limited information regarding attitudes towards ageing and physical performance in regard to adults aged 55 to 64 years. The objective of our study was to examine the association of attitude towards ageing on physical performance which includes mobility, agility and falls risk. This cross sectional study was conducted at five senior citizen clubs around Klang Valley in Malaysia. A total of 154 community dwelling adults aged 55 and above (mean:65.8+6.82) participated in this study. Attitude towards ageing was measured using Kogan’s Attitude towards Older People Questionnaire (KAOP). Mobility and agility were measured using gait speed test and ten step test respectively. Risk of falls was assessed using physiological profile aproach (PPA). Approximately 75% of the participants had positive attitude towards ageing with high to very high risk of falls. A significant (p<0.05) correlation was demonstrated between attitude towards ageing, falls risk and gait speed.Regression analysis showed that attitudes toward ageing had a relationship with falls risk, explaining 6% of the variance, F (1, 152) =10.26, p<0.01.The results of this study suggest that there is some relationship between attitude towards ageing and falls risk measured using a combination of physical performance test. Positive attitude towards ageing should be promoted among adults in an earlier age for overall physical health among older adults.
attitudes towards ageing ; gait speed ; agility ; falls risk ; older adults

PURPOSE: This study was done to determine inpatient fall rates in an acute hospital setting and to explore risk factors and characteristics across clinical departments. METHODS: The medical records and standardized fall reports of 416 patients admitted between January 1 and December 31, 2012 were reviewed. Descriptive statistics and statistical tests were used, including: t-test, chi2-test, ANOVA. RESULTS: The total fall rate per 1,000 inpatient days was 0.49. Fall rate, fall risk factors and characteristics such as age, type of fallers and mean MFS (Morse Fall Scale) differed significantly among clinical departments. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis results show that the fall rates, fall risk factors and characteristics of acute hospital inpatient falls varied significantly across clinical departments. The findings of this study suggest that hospitals should consider differences in fall related characteristics across clinical departments when implementation fall prevention strategies and interventions.
Accidental Falls ; Hospital Departments ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Medical Records ; Risk Factors*

OBJECTIVE: Falls are a devastating consequence of Parkinson's disease (PD) and are due to motor imbalance. However, the frequency of falls and their risk factors among Nigerians with PD is not known despite the significant increase in PD cases in the country. To assess fall risk factors and frequency in Nigerian PD patients. METHODS: Using an analytical design to compare falling versus non-falling patients, 81 PD patients were assessed for clinical factors, frequency of falls, and candidate risk factors for falls according to the Tinetti Balance and Gait, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale subsection 1, and Timed Up and Go Tests. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were performed at the 95% confidence level. RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 65.6 ± 9.7 years. Falls were about three times (p < 0.001) more common in PD patients. Of the falling patients, 67.7% sustained injuries, 67.7% had recurrent falls and 44.9% admitted to having a fear of falling. The independent statistical predictors of fall were fear of falling [odds ratio (OR): 3.86], disease severity (OR: 1.09) and disease duration (OR: 1.01). CONCLUSION: The frequency of falls in PD patients was significantly higher when compared with the healthy adult population, and the modifiable predictor was fear of falling with a potential to significantly reduce falls when strategically addressed.
Accidental Falls* ; Adult ; Africa South of the Sahara ; Gait ; Humans ; Multivariate Analysis ; Nigeria* ; Parkinson Disease ; Risk Factors

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the validity of three fall risk assessment scales including the Morse Fall Scale (MFS), the Bobath Memorial Hospital Fall Risk Assessment Scale (BMFRAS), and the Johns Hopkins Hospital Fall Risk Assessment Tool (JHFRAT). METHODS: This study was a prospective validation cohort study in five acute care hospitals in Seoul and Gyeonggi-Do, Korea. In total, 356 patients over the age of 18 years admitted from December 2009 to February 2010 participated. The three fall risk assessment scales listed above were tested for sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive and negative predictive values. A receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve was generated to show sensitivities and specificities for predicting falls based on different threshold scores for considering patients at high risk. RESULTS: Based on the mean scores of each scale for falls, the MFS at a cut-off score of 50 had a sensitivity of 78.9%, specificity of 55.8%, positive predictive value of 30.8%, and negative predictive value of 91.4%, which were the highest values among the three fall assessment scales. Areas under the curve of the ROC curves were .761 for the MFS, .715 for the BMFRAS, and .708 for the JHFRAT. CONCLUSIONS: Accordingly, of the three fall risk assessment scales, the highest predictive validity for identifying patients at high risk for falls was achieved by the MFS.
Accidental Falls ; Cohort Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Assessment ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Weights and Measures

BACKGROUND: Accidental fall is a major risk factor of hip fractures in the aged. Recently Tai Chi exercise is reported to reduce the frequency of falls in the American elderly. This study was to evaluate the effects of Tai Chi exercise on equilibrium in the Korean elderly. METHODS: We selected 4 clubs for the elderly in the same district. The elderly(11 men, 9 women) who attended two of the clubs were offered Tai Chi(9 basic forms) exercise and the elderly(4 men, 21 women) who attended the other two of them were offered regular medical examination. Intervention length was 12 weeks, with outcomes measured before and after intervention. RESULTS: In men, single left leg standing with eyes open improved in Tai Chi group as compared with non Tai Chi group(p=0.026). In women, single right leg standing with eyes open improved in Tai Chi group as compared with non Tai Chi group(p=0.023), and single left leg standing with eyes open showed improvement in Tai Chi group as compared with non Tai Chi group(p=0.085). MMSE K showed improvement in Tai Chi group as compared with non Tai Chi group, but it was not significant(p>0.05). Those who said these 9 basic forms were not difficult were 81.8% in men, 77.8% in women. CONCLUSION: `9 basic forms of Tai Chi' is easy to practice and helpful for equilibrium in the aged. The effect of 9 basic forms of Tai Chi on cognition of the aged needs further studies.
Accidental Falls ; Aged ; Cognition ; Female ; Hip Fractures ; Humans ; Leg ; Male ; Risk Factors ; Tai Ji

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine which fall-risk tool is most accurate for detecting and predicting adults in the hospital setting. METHODS: A literature search was performed to identify all studies published between 1946 and 2014 from periodicals indexed in Ovid Medline, Embase, CINAHL, KoreaMed, NDSL and other databases, using the following keywords: 'fall', 'fall risk assessment', 'fall screening', 'mobility scale', and 'risk assessment tool'. The QUADAS-2 was applied to assess the internal validity of the diagnostic studies. Fourteen studies were analyzed using meta-analysis with MetaDisc 1.4. RESULTS: The result of comparing twelve tools was that the Morse Fall Scale (MFS) is the best tool for predicting falls for acute hospitalized adult patients. Six prospective validation studies using MFS with high methodological quality, involving 9,255 patients, were included. Meta-analysis finding of MFS was as follows; pooled sensitivity 0.73 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.68-0.78), pooled specificity 0.75 (95% CI: 0.74-0.76), area under the curve (AUC) of summary receiver operating characteristics (sROC) curve 0.79 (standard error [SE] = 0.02), and value of index Q* 0.72 (SE = 0.01) respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Falls in hospitalized adult patients can be effectively prevented using the MFS. These findings provide scientific evidence for using appropriate tool to prevent accidental falls and improve the safety of patients.
Accidental Falls ; Adult* ; Humans ; Inpatients* ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Assessment* ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity

risk factors (noise, vibration, abnormal temperature, etc.) and shift work.]]>
Accidental Falls ; Employment ; Fatigue ; Logistic Models ; Risk Factors ; Salaries and Fringe Benefits ; Vibration

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop a valid Adult Fall Assessment Scale Korean version (FAS-K) for inpatients in general hospitals in Korea. METHODS: This a 14 item FAS-K was developed based on a review of national and international research and expert opinions in related field. Interrater reliability of FAS-K was analyzed using the ICC (Intraclass Correlation Coefficients). To examine the validity of FAS-K, a CVI (Content Validity Index), the Pearson correlation coefficients between FAS-K and two widely used scales, the Morse Fall Scale (MFS) and the Johns Hopkins Hospital Fall Risk Assessment Tool (JHFRAT), and the Mann-Whitney test were used. RESULTS: The ICC was .958. The CVI ranged from .70 to 1.00. The FAS-K was significantly associated with the MFS (r=.74, p<.001) and with the JHFRAT (r=.87, p<.001), verifying the concurrent validity of FAS-K. As for the construct validity of FAS-K, significant differences between the fall and non-fall groups were found not only in the MFS (Z=−3.23, p=.001) but also in the FAS-K (Z=−3.10, p=.002). CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that the FAS-K is a reliable fall risk assessment tool with high validity.
Accidental Falls ; Adult ; Expert Testimony ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Korea ; Risk Assessment ; Weights and Measures

Falls are the most common cause of accidents among the older population, leading to both fatal and non-fatal injuries. Falls is a syndrome resulting from the cumulative effect of various extrinsic and intrinsic factors. It is considered to be a multifactorial disorder. Medication use is considered a risk factor for falls. We reviewed medications associated with falls in older individuals. In geriatrics populations, polypharmacy is associated with falls. Medical doctors should be aware of the possibility that starting a new medication, such as antihypertensive agents, benzodiazepine, antidepressants, opioid agents and antihistamines, may act as a trigger for the onset of a fall.
Accidental Falls ; Antidepressive Agents ; Antihypertensive Agents ; Benzodiazepines ; Geriatrics ; Histamine Antagonists ; Intrinsic Factor ; Polypharmacy ; Risk Factors