Fall prevention strategies in community-dwelling older adults aged 65 or over with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective: Independent walking is the most essential prerequisite to maintain quality of life in older persons. The purpose of this review was to investigate the effect of fall prevention strategies on fall risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) within community- dwelling older adults aged 65 and over.Design: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Methods: PubMed and three other databases were searched up to October 31st, 2018 and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating fall prevention strategies for fall risk in persons who were 65 years of age or above with T2DM were included. The review extracted the following information from each study selected: first author’s surname, published year, country, study population, type of intervention, intensity of intervention, comparison, measurement variables, additional therapy, summary of results, and mean and standard deviation from selected studies.Results: This review selected fourteen RCTs with 460 older adults with diabetes mellitus. Of the 14 studies, the types of intervention used to improve the risk of falls were strengthening (5), aerobic exercises (2), multimodal exercises (4), one virtual reality exercise (1), whole body vibration with balance exercise (1), and Tai Chi exercise (1). Seven RCTs were eligible for the meta-analysis. Therapeutic interventions were more effective than the control group for the Timed Up-and-Go test (1.11; 95% CI, 1.82 to 0.41) and the 6-minute Walk Test (1.89; 95% CI, 8.33 to 4.54).Conclusions: The results of the review suggest that interventions to prevent fall risk in older adults with T2DM should focus on strengthening, balance, aerobic, and multimodal exercises. PU - Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science