Exercise, vitamin D help prevent falls

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Exercise and vitamin D supplements top the list of primary care interventions that help prevent falls in older adults, a U.S. researcher says.

Yvonne L. Michael of Drexel University School of Public Health in Philadelphia and colleagues at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research conducted a systematic review of 54 studies involving 26,102 community-dwelling adults age 65 and older.

The study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, finds the 16 trials looking at exercise or physical therapy such as gait, balance, functional training as well as strength, resistance or general exercise showed a 13 percent reduction in falling. Nine trials of vitamin D supplementation indicated a 17 percent reduced risk of falling.

The comprehensive multi-factorial interventions such as providing case managers or home nurses provided 11 percent reduction, but the 19 trials involving other factors such as medication use, visual acuity, home environment and behavioral counseling -- didn't significantly reduce fall risk overall.