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 Researchers analyzed data from 40 clinical trials with a total of
21,868 adults who were 73 years old on average. All of the smaller
trials randomly assigned some participants to do a variety of
exercise programs for at least 48 weeks while others joined a
comparison group that didn't exercise or, more often, an "active
control" group that might exercise outside the context of the
workouts being tested.
Participants assigned to the tested exercise programs for at least
one year were 12 percent less likely to fall and 26 percent less
likely to sustain injuries if they did fall than people who were not
part of exercise interventions, the analysis found.
Exercise programs were also associated with a 16 percent lower risk
of fractures.
"Exercising continuously in time brings health benefits even in late
life, including for people with chronic conditions," said lead
researcher Philipe de Souto Barreto of Toulouse University Hospital
in France.
A variety of factors can make falls more likely, and exercise may
help address many of these issues at once, Barreto said by email.
Workouts may strengthen leg muscles, improve balance and
coordination while walking, and help reduce the risk and severity of
osteoporosis, or diminished bone density that can make fractures
more likely when people do fall.
The analysis didn't find a connection between exercise and a lower
risk of multiple falls, hospitalizations or premature death,
researchers report in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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Most of the studies in the analysis were done in Europe or the
United States, and several of the trials examined the effects of
exercise in people with chronic health problems like dementia or
heart disease.
In most of the trials, researchers tested a combination of aerobic
exercise and strength training and provided participants with at
least some supervised workouts.
One limitation of the analysis is that several of the small trials
included in the study didn't clearly report what proportion of
participants completed exercise programs as directed, the study
authors note. It's also possible that longer trials would be needed
to understand the connection between routine workouts and the risk
of fractures, researchers also point out.
Even so, a wide range of exercise programs from strength training to
tai chi have long been linked to a lower risk of falls in older
adults, said coauthor of an accompanying editorial Dr. Seth
Landefeld of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
"What is new is that this study focused on studies of exercise
interventions for more than one year," Landefeld said by email.
"Exercise about two to three times weekly for a total of about three
hours weekly reduces the risk for falls and the risk of injury from
a fall," Landefeld added.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2CsHCJq JAMA Internal Medicine, online
December 28, 2018.
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