Association between self-reported or perceived fatigue and falls among older people: A systematic review

Abstract

Aim: The aim of the present review was to examine the evidence of the relationship between self-reported or perceived fatigue and falls among older adults.

Methods: A systematic review, following the PRISMA recommendations, was performed. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cinahl were searched from February 2021 until March 2021, without any limitation on publication date. The methodological quality of the recruited studies was assessed with the Newcastle-Ottawa scale.

Results: Of the 2,296 initially retrieved records, 20 met the inclusion criteria; 11 cohort and 9 cross-sectional studies. They were classified as "good or very good" studies. Data on 59,852 older adults was reported. Most studies reported a strong association between fatigue and incidence or risk of falls, with odds ratios ranging from 1.04 to 3.53. Evidence obout the relationship between fatigue and recurrent, as well as injurious, falls is limited.

Conclusions: Self-reported or perceived fatigue is associated with the incidence of falls or risk of falling among older adults. Nurses could contribute to decreasing the inicdence of falls through prevention and proper geriatric assessment, including the management of fatigue in their daily clinical practice. The evidence about the potential effect of fatigue on falls-related injuries is inconclusive and on recurrent falls remains to be further defined.

Keywords: Falls; Falls-related injuries; Older adults; Recurrent falls; Risk of falling; Self-perceived fatigue; Self-reported fatigue.