The role of cognitive impairment in fall risk among older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

cognitive impairment is an established fall risk factor; however, it is unclear whether a disease-specific diagnosis (i.e. dementia), measures of global cognition or impairments in specific cognitive domains (i.e. executive function) have the greatest association with fall risk. Our objective was to evaluate the epidemiological evidence linking cognitive impairment and fall risk.

studies were identified through systematic searches of the electronic databases of MEDLINE, EMBASE, PyschINFO (1988-2009). Bibliographies of retrieved articles were also searched. A fixed-effects meta-analysis was performed using an inverse-variance method.