A recent study led by the University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University Hospital has demonstrated the effectiveness of an exercise intervention in reducing falls among elderly women, especially those on multiple medications. The findings, published in Scientific Reports, underscore the importance of targeting physical activity programs at individuals using several medications to enhance fall prevention.
The study highlights a concerning link between polypharmacy—defined as the regular use of four or more medications—and poorer physical fitness outcomes. Polypharmacy was also shown to be associated with worse results in functional fitness tests, which measure overall physical health and mobility.
Anna-Erika Tamminen, a researcher at the Kuopio Musculoskeletal Research Unit, emphasized the need for targeted interventions: “Our findings suggest that, in order to enhance fall prevention in the elderly population, efforts to increase physical activity should be specifically aimed at those using multiple medications.”
Research Director Toni Rikkonen also pointed out that the success of the exercise program was largely influenced by participants’ baseline fitness levels: “Those with the poorest physical fitness initially benefitted the most.”
The study involved a secondary analysis of data from the Kuopio Fall Prevention Study, a randomized controlled trial that included 914 women, with a median age of 76.5 years at the start of the study. Half of the participants were assigned to an exercise intervention group, while the other half formed a control group. The participants underwent fitness assessments at the beginning of the study and again at one- and two-year intervals. Medication use was recorded through a baseline questionnaire, and participants were categorized into six groups based on the number of medications they used. The study also monitored falls through biweekly SMS surveys for approximately two years.
The exercise program involved two sessions per week for the first six months—one featuring tai chi and the other circuit training. In the second phase of the program, participants had unrestricted access to local recreational sports facilities.
Over the course of the study, 1,380 falls were reported. Of these, 739 resulted in injury and pain, and 63 led to fractures. Notably, the group of women with polypharmacy who participated in the exercise intervention experienced a 29% lower risk of falls compared to the control group, which used zero to one medications and did not engage in the exercise program.
Although previous studies have shown that polypharmacy increases the risk of falls, the current study found that polypharmacy did not influence the fall rates in the control group. Additionally, there was no correlation between the number of medications and the incidence of fractures. The best fitness outcomes were observed in participants using zero to one medications, regardless of whether they were in the exercise or control group, while those on multiple medications showed the poorest results in fitness tests throughout the study.
These findings underscore the potential of structured exercise interventions in mitigating fall risks among elderly women, particularly those with complex medication regimens.
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