New Study: Dementia Risk Nearly Double in Older Adults with History of Multiple Falls

A new systematic review examining the incidence of future dementia and falls found that middle- and older-aged adults who experienced multiple falls had a 174% higher risk of developing dementia in the future. Analyzing the impact of single and multiple falls in the study’s population of more than 2.9 million adults aged 40+, the study suggests that recurrent falls could serve as potential clinical markers of cognitive decline, highlighting the need for preventive strategies to reduce dementia risk.

The study examined seven studies from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library, including five in a meta-analysis, investigating the association between falls and the future development of dementia. Key findings include:

• A single fall was linked to a 120% higher risk of developing dementia – and the risk with multiple falls was nearly double.
• Among 1,246,410 middle-aged and older adults who had a history of falls, researchers found that the overall incidence of future dementia was 11.6% among the population.
• For those aged 60 and older, the pooled incidence increased to 12.3%.

The evidence is clear: falls have profound effects on an individual’s health and are a potential predictor of future dementia.

Legislation to improve access to falls-prevention care, including the Stopping Addiction and Falls for the Elderly (S.2612/H.R.1171), has the potential to measurably expand the number of falls assessments conducted by physical and occupational therapists on aging Americans.

To learn more about the impact and costs of falls, CLICK HERE. 

To read the study published in The Journal of the Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association, CLICK HERE.