Physical Activity Level and Risk of Falling in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

This systematic review examines the association between physical activity (PA) level and risk of falling in community-dwelling older adults. A search of PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science was performed in January 2017. Four prospective cohort studies investigating the incidence of falls in a period of at least 12 months and its association with the level of PA in people aged 60 years and older were reviewed and pooled for meta-analysis. The pooled risk ratio (RR) for being a recurrent faller (2,420 participants) was 39% higher among those who were in the lowest PA level (RR = 1.39; 95% confidence interval [1.17, 1.65]; I2 = 0%, p = .43; p < .0001). The association between being a faller (7,927 participants) and PA level was inconclusive. This review identified that the benefit of general PA for preventing falls is associated with the adopted PA level.