[Prevention programs of risk factors for falls]

Approximately 17% of Japanese older people fall for a year. The femoral neck fractures with falls caused by various functional problems make them depress remarkably activities of daily living and quality of life. In risk factors for falls in old people, muscle weakness, balance and gait disorders particularly increases to falls. The major results from recent systematic reviews have indicated that interventions of exercise, multifactorial, environmental modification and gradual withdrawal of psychotropic medication in community-dwelling elderly people were effective for preventing falls. Regarding the older people in hospitals and sanatoriums, it appeared that comprehensive multifactorial interventions and vitamin D supplementation could be effective in falls rather than exercises intervention only. However, the short period of the exercise intervention may affect ineffectiveness in preventing falls.