Good mental health prevents falls
Good mental health plays an essential role in keeping elderly people on their feet and preventing major injury through falls, according to research from The Australian National University.
The study of 787 adults with an average age of 78 was led by Associate Professor Kaarin Anstey of the ANU Centre for Mental Health Research (CMHR).
Professor Anstey said that falls constitute a major public health problem in later life and are the leading cause of unintentional injury and hospitalisation in persons aged 65 and older.
With age the danger of falling rises steadily and the risk of death after being hospitalised for a fall is approximately 50%.
The cost to the Australian economy from the one in three older adults living at home that have falls each year is over $1 billion annually.
Those falls account for 11% of hospital bed days in Australians aged 65 and older.
