Studying factors affecting falls among the elderly

Background: Falls-related injuries are among the common problems occurring in the elderly. Falls may have the consequences such as physical injury, fracture, hospitalization, disability, and use of auxiliary equipment, which can directly affect the elderly s functioning. Furthermore, once falling occurs, its related damages will lead to fears of falling, increasing dependency, admission to the nursing home, depression, and anxiety. Approximately one-third of people over 65 years of age fall on the ground at least once a year that this rises with age. Thus, having a healthy elderly community involves paying more attention to the elderly and developing a safe environment. The aim of this study was to determine the factors influencing on the falls in the elderly.Materials and Methods: This review study deals with the results of the papers on the factors affecting falls in the elderly during the years between 2008 and 2018. The databases of Iranmedex, Google Scholar, SID, Pubmed, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched to identify the studies conducted in the field of falls in the elderly, the factors affecting it, and the influences of falls in the elderly s life, and the results were extracted.Results: The findings indicate the effect of various factors including sports exercises on falls’ prevention among the elderly. Applying the water program in deep part of a pool can help improve balance and ultimately reduce the risk of falls in the elderly. Moreover, eight weeks of water exercises have a positive impact on functioning and muscle strength of the elderly with osteoarthritis, which decreases the risk of falls, in turn. Other factors include calcium and vitamin D intake, which reduces the risk of falls due to rheumatoid arthritis by 46% in women. Protection of hip joint and improvement of cognitive-behavioral disorders are effective in preventing falls. Studies show that a relationship between falls and factors such as cardiovascular diseases, arthritis, stroke, visual impairment, impaired consciousness, sleep disorders, depression, pulmonary diseases, and urinary incontinence is observed. The studies on the standardization of the living environment in the elderly suggests that improving the physical environment also has a significant impact on reducing the risk of falls.Conclusion: Because of the negative physical and mental effects of falls in the elderly and their increasing dependence, caregivers are recommended to make positive changes in mobility, type of nutrition, and, in general, their lifestyle, in order to reduce the risk of falls and consequently fracture and other complications.

کلیدواژه ها:

Falls ، Elderly ، Review Research