Falls As a Problem of an Aging Population, a Modern Look at Risk Factors and Assessment Methods. Role of Fear of Falls in Increasing their Risk

Abstract

The article presents modern views on the problem of falls in the elderly. There is a global trend of changing the demographic situation - the permanent increase in the proportion of elderly and senile people in the general population, the issues of geriatrics as one of the medical specialties are becoming the most relevant. Among the problems that geriatricians and all specialists involved in the treatment of elderly patients have to solve, one of the most serious is the problem of falls. The article provides a medical review of the assessment of the frequency of falls depending on gender, age, diseases and external factors. The main risk factors for falls and their prevention measures are discussed in detail. Special attention is given to the fear of falls as a significant risk factor. The methods of validation the risk factor with the use of unified questionnaires - “The scale of assessment of the fear of fa lls” and “the Falls efficacy scale” are presented. The purpose of this article is to attract the attention of practitioners to the problem of falls and the fear of falls as one of the significant risk factors, methods of its identification and prevention

Keywords

• falls
• frailty
• elderly age
• fear of falls