TY - JOUR
PY - 2024//
TI - Purpose in life and risk of falls: a meta-analysis of cross-sectional and prospective associations
JO - Gerontology and geriatric medicine
A1 - Sutin, Angelina R.
A1 - Luchetti, Martina
A1 - Stephan, Yannick
A1 - Canada, Brice
A1 - Terracciano, Antonio
SP - e23337214241236039
EP - e23337214241236039
VL - 10
IS -
N2 - Background and Aim: Purpose in life is an aspect of well-being that is associated with better health outcomes in older adulthood. We examine the association between purpose in life and likelihood of a recent fall and risk of an incident fall over time.
METHODS: Purpose in life and falls were reported concurrently and falls were reported again up to 16 years later in four established longitudinal studies of older adults (total N = 25,418).
RESULTS: A random-effects meta-analysis of the four samples indicated that purpose was associated with a 14% lower likelihood of having fallen recently at baseline (meta-analytic OR = 0.88, 95% CI [0.84-0.92]). Among participants who reported no falls at baseline (N = 15,632), purpose was associated with a nearly 10% lower risk of an incident fall over the up to 16-year follow-up (meta-analytic HR = 0.92, 95% CI [0.90-0.94]). These associations were independent of age, sex, race, ethnicity, and education, were not moderated by these factors, and persisted controlling for physical activity and disease burden.
CONCLUSION and Recommendations: Purpose in life is a meaningful aspect of well-being that may be useful to identify individuals at risk for falling, particularly among individuals without traditional risk factors, and be a target of intervention to reduce fall risk.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 2333-7214 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/23337214241236039 ID - ref1 ER -