SynthesisAge and ageing2021
Efficacy of exercise-based interventions in preventing falls among community-dwelling older persons with cognitive impairment: is there enough evidence? An updated systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Age and ageing, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
17 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Canadian Stroke Best Practice Recommendations: Vascular cognitive impairment, 7th edition practice guidelines update, 2024.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025Guideline
- Effectiveness of fall prevention interventions in residential aged care and community settings: an umbrella review.BMC geriatrics · 2024Pooled it
- International Exercise Recommendations in Older Adults (ICFSR): Expert Consensus Guidelines.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2021Guideline
- Implementing an Online Virtual Falls Prevention Intervention During a Public Health Pandemic for Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Feasibility Trial.Clinical interventions in aging · 2021Trial
- Comparison and validation of machine learning models to predict 5-year fall risk among community-dwelling older adults in China.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Feasibility, safety, and effects of a step training program in community-dwelling older adults with mild-to-moderate dementia: A feasibility wait-list controlled trial.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2026Article
- Physical activity, health symptoms, and falls in older adults with different cognition levels: evidence from the Health and Retirement Study.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- What to Know About Falls in Older Adults? Risk Factors, Predictors, and Therapeutic Interventions.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Review
- Article
- Review
- Move more, age well: prescribing physical activity for older adults.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2025Review
- Falls and Alzheimer Disease.Advances in geriatric medicine and research · 2024Article
- Concerns about falling in people with Mild Cognitive Impairment and dementia: a scoping review of exercise interventions.Frontiers in dementia · 2024Article
- Italian guidance on Dementia Day Care Centres: A position paper.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2023Review
- Eight-year longitudinal falls trajectories and associations with modifiable risk factors: evidence from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA).Age and ageing · 2023Observational
- The Lived Experience of Healthcare Workers in Preventing Falls in Community Dwelling Individuals with Dementia.Geriatrics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- World guidelines for falls prevention and management for older adults: a global initiative.Age and ageing · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveExercise prevents falls in the general older population, but evidence is inconclusive for older adults living with cognitive impairment. We performed an updated systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the potential effectiveness of interventions for reducing falls in older persons with cognitive impairment.
methodsPubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Scopus, CENTRAL and PEDro were searched from inception to 10 November 2020. We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated the effects of physical training compared to a control condition (usual care, waitlist, education, placebo control) on reducing falls among community-dwelling older adults with cognitive impairment (i.e. any stage of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, mild cognitive impairment).
resultsWe identified and meta-analysed nine studies, published between 2013 and 2020, that included 12 comparisons (N = 1,411; mean age = 78 years; 56% women). Overall, in comparison to control, interventions produced a statistically significant reduction of approximately 30% in the rate of falls (incidence rate ratio = 0.70; 95% CI, 0.52-0.95). There was significant between-trial heterogeneity (I2 = 74%), with most trials (n = 6 studies [eight comparisons]) showing no reductions on fall rates. Subgroup analyses showed no differences in the fall rates by trial-level characteristics. Exercise-based interventions had no impact on reducing the number of fallers (relative risk = 1.01; 95% CI, 0.90-1.14). Concerns about risk of bias in these RCTs were noted, and the quality of evidence was rated as low.
conclusionsThe positive statistical findings on reducing fall rate in this meta-analysis were driven by a few studies. Therefore, current evidence is insufficient to inform evidence-based recommendations or treatment decisions for clinical practice.PROSPERO Registration number: CRD42020202094.
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