@article{ref1,
title="Depressive symptomatology as a risk factor for falls in older people: systematic review and meta-analysis",
journal="Journal of the American Geriatrics Society",
year="2013",
author="Kvelde, Tasha and McVeigh, Catherine and Toson, Barbara and Greenaway, Mark and Lord, Stephen R. and Delbaere, Kim and Close, Jacqueline C. T.",
volume="61",
number="5",
pages="694-706",
abstract="OBJECTIVES: To conduct a systematic literature review and meta-analysis to evaluate studies that have addressed depressive symptoms as a risk factor for falls in older people. DESIGN: Systematic review with meta-analysis. SETTING: Community and residential care. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals aged 60 and older. MEASUREMENTS: Depressive symptoms, incidence of falls. RESULTS: Twenty-five prospective studies with a total of 21,455 participants met inclusion criteria for the systematic review. Twenty studies met criteria for the meta-analyses. Recruitment of participants was conducted randomly or by approaching groups with identified healthcare needs. Eleven measures were used to assess depressive symptoms, and length of follow-up for falls ranged from 90 days to 8 years. Reporting of antidepressant use was variable across studies. The pooled effect of 14 studies reporting odds ratios (ORs) indicated that a higher level of depressive symptoms at baseline resulted in a greater likelihood of falling during follow-up (OR = 1.46, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.27-1.67, P < .001, I(2)  = 77.2%). In six studies reporting relative risks (RRs) or hazard ratios, a higher level of depressive symptoms at baseline resulted in a greater likelihood of falling during follow-up (RR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.19-1.84, P < .001). There was no difference between community samples and those with identified healthcare needs with respect to depressive symptoms being a risk factor for falls. CONCLUSION: Depressive symptoms were found to be consistently associated with falls in older people, despite the use of different measures of depressive symptoms and falls and varying length of follow-up and statistical methods. Clinicians should consider management of depression when implementing fall prevention initiatives, and further research on factors mediating depressive symptoms and fall risk in older people is needed.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0002-8614",
doi="10.1111/jgs.12209",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jgs.12209"
}