Physical activity, injurious falls, and physical function in aging: an umbrella review.
Open accessAbstract
Purpose: To review and update the evidence of the relationship between physical activity, risk of fall-related injury, and physical function in community-dwelling older people that was presented in the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report (PAGAC Report). Methods: Duplicate independent screenings of 1415 systematic reviews and meta-analyses published between 2006 and 2016 identified from PubMed®, Cochrane Library, and CINAHL databases yielded 111 articles used for the PAGAC Report. The PAGAC Aging Subcommittee members graded scientific evidence strength based upon a five-criteria rubric and assigned one of four grades: strong, moderate, limited, or not assignable. An updated search of 368 articles published between January 2017 and March 2018 yielded 35 additional pertinent articles. Results: Strong evidence demonstrated that physical activity reduced the risk of fall-related injuries by 32% to 40%, including severe falls requiring medical care or hospitalization. Strong evidence also supported that physical activity improved physical function and reduced the risk of age-related loss of physical function in an inverse graded manner among the general aging population, and improved physical function in older people with frailty and with Parkinson’s disease. Aerobic, muscle-strengthening, and/or multicomponent physical activity programs elicited the largest improvements in physical function in these same populations. Moderate evidence indicated that for older adults who sustained a hip fracture or stroke, extended exercise programs and mobility-oriented physical activity improved physical function. Conclusions: Regular physical activity effectively helps older adults improve or delay the loss of physical function and mobility while reducing the risk of fall-related injuries. These important public health benefits underscore the importance of physical activity among older adults, especially those living with declining physical function and chronic health conditions.
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Resistance training improves multicomponent function compared with no exercise (CTRL) in healthy adults.
“Compared with CTRL, multicomponent function was impacted by standard RT (17,24,42,45,159), elastic band RT (60,61), and home-based RT (64).”
From American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand. Resistance Training Prescription for Muscle Function, Hypertrophy, and Physical Performance in Healthy Adults: An Overview of Reviews (2026) · cites this paper as [159]
The Results section on the general older population reports strong evidence that muscle-strengthening activity improves physical function in aging adults. It does not establish that resistance training alone improves multicomponent function specifically in healthy adults compared with no exercise; the reported findings on multiple functional outcomes concern older adults with low physical function or multicomponent exercise. (LLM, conf=0.82)
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Research works printed but not linked: 1
- [5]US Department of Health and Human Services. Physical activity guidelines for Americans. 2nd Edition Washington, DC: US DHHS, 2018.
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“Compared with CTRL, multicomponent function was impacted by standard RT (17,24,42,45,159), elastic band RT (60,61), and home-based RT (64).”
Pearson, L. T., Behm, D. G., Goodall, S., Mason, R., Stuart, S., & Barry, G. (2022) · BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation · doi:10.1186/s13102-022-00526-x · Cited by 12 · see citing works
- Authors
- DIPIETRO, L., CAMPBELL, W. W., BUCHNER, D. M., ERICKSON, K. I., POWELL, K. E., BLOODGOOD, B., HUGHES, T., DAY, K. R., PIERCY, K. L., VAUX-BJERKE, A., & OLSON, R. D.
- Affiliations
- George Washington University (US)
- Purdue University West Lafayette (US)
- Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL;
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US)
- ICF International (United States) (US)
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (US)
- Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Rockville, MD
- ORCID
- Venue
- Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise
- Published
- 2019-06
- Volume
- 51
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 1303-1313
- ISSN
- 0195-9131 (ISSN-L)
- 1530-0315
- PMC
- PMC6527126
- OpenAlex
- W2946373918
- Cited by
- 331
- References
- 64
- Citations by year
- 2026: 33 · 2025: 38 · 2024: 50 · 2023: 60 · 2022: 63 · 2021: 48 · 2020: 33 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 7.07
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Cancer Institute (#HHSN261201400002B)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation › Balance, Gait, and Falls Prevention
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Geriatrics and Gerontology › Frailty in Older Adults
- Keywords
- physical activity, fall-related injuries, physical function, aging, older adults, frailty, Parkinson's disease, hip fracture, stroke, aerobic exercise, muscle strengthening exercises, multicomponent exercise, mobility (physical function), exercise recommendations
- MeSH terms
- Accidental Falls, Aged, Body Weight, Chronic Disease, Humans, Socioeconomic Factors, Exercise, Practice Guidelines as Topic, Risk Reduction Behavior, Independent Living
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