Physical Activity Lowers Fall Risk; Falls Limit Activity

TOPLINE:

Middle-aged women who report higher levels of physical activity have a lower risk for falls in subsequent years. Additionally, those who experience injurious falls are less likely to engage in physical activity afterward.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a longitudinal assessment of data for 11,759 women (age, 53-58 years in 2004) born between 1946 and 1951 from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health.
• A total of 6194 (53%) women responded to fall-related questions, while 6826 (58%) women reported their physical activity levels in surveys conducted every 3 years from 2004 to 2019.
• Physical activity levels were categorized as follows: 0 min/wk, 1 to
• Falls were categorized as either injurious or noninjurious.
• The study evaluated the bidirectional associations between physical activity and falls.

TAKEAWAY:

• Women who participated in physical activity for 1 to
• Women reporting noninjurious falls had lower odds of engaging in > 300 min/wk of physical activity 3 years later (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.77-0.92).
• Women with injurious falls demonstrated reduced odds of undertaking 1 to

IN PRACTICE:

“The prospective bidirectional association between physical activity and falls not only provides evidence for addressing falls through promoting activity, but it could also provide insights for promoting activity after falls, particularly after injurious falls,” the authors wrote. 

SOURCE:

The study was led by Wing S. Kwok, PhD, of the Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, The University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia. It was published online on January 30, 2025, in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

LIMITATIONS:

The study relied on self-reported data for physical activity and falls, which may have introduced recall and reporting bias. The 3-year gap between surveys and retrospective reporting of falls in the past year may have resulted in an underestimation of falls. Additionally, the relationship between device-measured physical activity and falls might differ from the self-reported findings presented in this study.

DISCLOSURES:

Some of the authors declared being supported by grants or scholarships from different research institutes. The authors declared having no conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.