On July 16th, 1998 Beeson Scholar Laura Dugan, MD, was featured ABC News to comment on the risk of falling among older adults, in light of former President George H.W. Bush’s recent accident.
Dr. Dugan stated that approximately one third of elderly adults fall each year and among those who fall, one third suffer some sort of fracture. Common reasons for falls include balance impairment, decrease in vision, and decrease in muscle strength. Dr. Dugan also commented that the risk of fracture increases due to both decreases in muscle mass, which helps pad the bones, and the weakening of bone mass.
Laure Dugan, MD, is the Abram C. Shmerling Professor of Alzheimer’s and Geriatric Medicine and the Head, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine at Vanderbilt University.
For more information on the effect of frailty on the health of older adults read our InfoAging Ask the Expert interview with John Morley, M.B. B.Ch., here.
