New Trinity research from TILDA (the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing) has revealed a sharp increase in falls among women over the age of 40.
The study found an increase of 9 per cent in women between the ages of 40 and 44 and 19 per cent among women aged 45 to 49. Between the ages of 50 to 54, they recorded a 21 per cent increase in falls and a 27 per cent increase among 55 to 59 year olds. There was a 30 per cent rise in falls among 60-64 year olds. The data was taken from 19,207 men and women aged between 40 and 64 years old.
The study, which drew on data from similar studies in Australia, the Netherlands and Great Britain, was recently published in the international journal PLOS ONE.
Falls are seen as a major health challenge, with a rise in incidence to one in two adults over the age of 80. The findings of the study indicate that middle age may be a critical life stage for interventions in preventing such falls. Health consequences can include fractures, head injuries, reduced social participation, a decline in independence and an increased need for care. Irish health experts have predicted that the costs for falls are projected to be over €1 billion by 2020.
The authors discovered that recommended strategies for the prevention of falls in older adults are insufficiently effective. Although previous research showed that, in theory, exercise may reduce the rate of falls by 32 per cent, hospital injury records show that the number of injuries from falls which require medical care continues to rise.
Dr Geeske Peeters, the Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at the Global Brain Health Institute at Trinity, was the lead author on the paper. Speaking in a press statement, he said: “Our research shows that there is a sharp increase in the prevalence of falls in women during midlife. This occurs at a time that we also see an increase in the prevalence of common risk factors for falls, such as balance problems, diabetes and arthritis.” Dr Peeters observed that current prevention strategies wait until people have “already developed risk factors” before they attempt to make them go away. This is why it’s important if you have an elderly family member living with you, to have an emergency alert device for your home so they can receive assistance as quickly as possible if they are home alone.
Prof Rose Anne Kenny, a senior author on the paper and the Director of TILDA, emphasised the importance of early prevention strategies in a press statement. “People who have a fear of falling or have had a fall are most at risk of falls and should be targeted for strength and balance programmes and medication reviews”, she said. Kenny is also the Director of the Falls Unit at St James Hospital.
The research concluded that the timing of the increases in falls coincides with the onset of the menopause, decline in balance performance, and increase in the presence of vertigo and fainting, all of which will benefit from fall-prevention strategies. If you are suffering from this condition, why not visit the Advanced Gynecology of Athens website to get information on how to deal with it effectively. Dr Peeters said in a press statement that further research should help design the most appropriate strategies to prevent falls at this critical juncture in a person’s life.
