24-Months Cluster-Randomized Intervention Trial of a Targeted Fall Prevention Program in a Primary Care Setting

Background Falls and fall-related injuries are common in community-dwelling older persons. Longitudinal data on effective fall prevention programs are rare. Objective Therefore, we evaluated a 4-months multi-component exercise fall prevention program in a primary care setting on long-term effects over 24 months on falls and concomitant injuries in older community-dwelling persons with high risk of falling. Design and Setting In the Prevention of Falls (PreFalls) study, forty general practitioners in Germany were cluster-randomized (1:1) into an intervention group (IG) or control group (CG). Three hundred seventy-eight independently living people with high risk of falling (78.1 +/- 5.9 years, 75% women) were assigned to IG (n = 222) or CG (n = 156). Intervention and Measurements Patients in IG took part in a 4-months multi-component exercise program comprising strength and balance exercises (28 sessions); patients in CG received no intervention. Primary outcome measure was number of falls over 24 months, analyzed by a patient-level, linear mixed Poisson model. Secondary endpoints were number of fall-related injuries, changes in physical function, fear of falling, and mortality. Results After 24 months, the IG demonstrated significantly fewer falls (IRR = 0.63, p = 0.021), injurious falls (IRR = 0.69, p = 0.034), and less fear of falling (p = 0.005). The mortality rate was 5.0% in IG and 10.3% in CG (HR = 0.51, 95% CI: 0.24 to 1.12; p = 0.094). Conclusions In older community-dwelling persons with high risk of falling, a short-term multi-component exercise intervention reduced falls and injurious falls, as well as fear of falling over 24 months.