Observational studyArchives of gerontology and geriatrics2017
The circumstances, orientations, and impact locations of falls in community-dwelling older women.
Observational study in Archives of gerontology and geriatrics, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 63 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
63 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 108 citations in OpenAlex.
- Reporting race and ethnicity in aging in place research: A systematic review.The Gerontologist · 2026Pooled it
- Perturbation-based balance training on treadmills for falls prevention in older adults: a review of training protocols and reporting recommendations (ProRePBT).BMC geriatrics · 2026Pooled it
- Design considerations for technology-assisted fall-resisting skills training trials in older adults: A pilot and feasibility study.PloS one · 2026Trial
- Feedback-based perturbation balance training during stationary cycling improves reactive and proactive balance among older adults: a single-blinded randomised controlled trial.Age and ageing · 2025Trial
- The Effects of 12-Week Dual-Task Physical-Cognitive Training on Gait, Balance, Lower Extremity Muscle Strength, and Cognition in Older Adult Women: A Randomized Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Trial
- Fall arrest strategy training improves upper body response time compared to standard fall prevention exercise in older women: A randomized trial.Clinical rehabilitation · 2022Trial
- Exploring the Application of Machine Learning for Daily-Life Near-Fall Detection in Older Adults.Geriatrics & gerontology international · 2026Article
- Participant-Reported Reductions in Falls and Fall-Related Injuries Associated With Variable-Friction Footwear: Retrospective Pre-Post Survey Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologies · 2026Article
- Misalignment Between Perceived and Actual Ability on a Balance Beam Walking Task.Journal of motor behavior · 2026Article
- Toward An Improved Reporting of Fall Circumstances Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Reporting Guide for the 6 W's of Falls.Journal of frailty, sarcopenia and falls · 2026Review
- Postural threat influences reactive stepping characteristics at the single-step threshold, but not when a step is necessary.Experimental brain research · 2026Article
- Age related alteration in EEG evoked responses to balance perturbations on an inclined surface.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- AI-Driven Innovations in Hearing Health: A Review of Artificial Intelligence Applications in Audiology and Hearing Technologies.Current aging science · 2026Review
- Multidimensional determinants of active and healthy aging trajectories: a position paper from the Age-It Research Program.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2025Article
- Characterizing the time of day and year of falls in people with probable Parkinson's disease.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Relationship between history of falls and foot pressure centre parameters during gait and stance in patients with lower-limb osteoarthritis.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Perceived severity of forward versus backward balance disturbances during walking in young and older adults.PloS one · 2025Article
- Higher fall rates and broader kinematic diversity in bilateral versus unilateral unconstrained slips.PloS one · 2025Article
- Wrist-worn voice recorders capture the circumstances and context of losses of balance among community-dwelling older adults.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2025Observational
- A framework to automatically detect near-falls using a wearable inertial measurement cluster.Communications engineering · 2024Article
3 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveWe sought to characterize the circumstances, orientations, and impact locations of falls in community-dwelling, ambulatory, older women.
methodsFor this longitudinal, observational study, 125 community-dwelling women age≥65years were recruited. Over 12-months of follow-up, fall details were recorded using twice-monthly questionnaires.
resultsMore than half (59%) of participants fell, with 30% of participants falling more than once (fall rate=1.3 falls per person-year). Slips (22%) and trips (33%) accounted for the majority of falls. Approximately 44% of falls were forward in direction, while backward falls accounted for 41% of falls. About a third of all falls were reported to have lateral (sideways) motion. Subjects reported taking a protective step in response to 82% of forward falls and 37% of backward falls. Of falls reporting lateral motion, a protective step was attempted in 70% of accounts. Common impact locations included the hip/pelvis (47% of falls) and the hand/wrist (27%). Backwards falls were most commonly reported with slips and when changing direction, and increased the risk of hip/pelvis impact (OR=12.6; 95% CI: 4.7-33.8). Forward falls were most commonly reported with trips and while hurrying, and increased the risk of impact to the hand/wrist (OR=2.6; 95% CI: 1.2-5.9).
conclusionFalls in older ambulatory women occur more frequently than previously reported, with the fall circumstance and direction dictating impact to common fracture locations. Stepping was a common protective recovery strategy and that may serve as an appropriate focus of interventions to reduce falls in this high risk population.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.