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Falls, Fractures and Orthogeriatrics

This Collection has now closed for submissions.

Addressing falls and fragility fractures in older adults is still necessary since they are associated with a long-term burden of disability and costs worldwide, i.e., increasing hospitalizations, post-hospital syndromes, mobility-disability, post-fall syndromes, and poor quality of life. However, we still need to discuss innovative methodologies and effective approaches to optimize the case finding, the decision-making and achieve patients’ goals and quality of life.

This is the time for a call to action that prioritizes the complexity of falls and fragility fracture management, building opportunities to include in the center of the discussion the orthogeriatric care model and the comprehensive interdisciplinary approach.

It is particularly important to discuss the patients’ risk stratification (i.e., fit, frail, disabled, or demented subjects) in the orthogeriatric care and rehabilitation programs, and the optimal outcomes obtained through an interdisciplinary healthcare program. Increasing interest regards procedures, structural and organizational aspects that may be associated with better outcomes (i.e. type of ward, professionals, protocols and procedures, minimum competencies, etc). In addition, more evidence about the efficacy and the sustainability of interventions for secondary prevention of falls and fragility fractures are required. Ultimately, there is a need to highlight the best pathway of care, related protocols and effects on main outcomes, which is the key component to support changes in the clinical practice and organization.

Intervention programs taking into account falls, fractures, and frailty are rising as the ICOPE, proposed by WHO, or the Fracture Liaison Services supported by IOF, and evidence from additional programs are welcome. Many methodological analytical flaws, lack of consensus about interventions, and actual constraints in the implementation of such programs have been argumented, therefore an updated summary of such issues is desidered within this collection. Aspects related with the clinical fisibility of available programs, their added value and the patients’ satisfaction, may also benefit all stakeholders.

With this collection at BMC Geriatrics, we are interested in attracting a wide range of submissions with a focus on the interplay of falls, fragility fractures, and orthogeriatrics. We strongly believe that fall and fragility fracture prevention is a critical milestone in the achievement of quality human longevity, and the interdisciplinary view may help to achieve better outcomes.

We are interested in evidences that highlight:

  • The healthcare and the economic burden associated with falls and fragility fractures, worldwide; 
  • The importance of recognizing frailty as a condition associated or  underlying falls and fragility fractures and the need for comprehensive appropriate assessment and interdisciplinary management of people living with falls and fragility fractures; 
  • The patients’ and systems’ gains associated with the orthogeriatric care management and interdisciplinary models of care after fragility fractures, from hospital admission to rehabilitation program outcomes (short and long-term); 
  • The increasing burden of peri-prosthesis fractures secondary to falls and the issues associated with surgical, rehabilitation and recovery of quality of life; 
  • The reasons for unsatisfaction or unfitness of available fall and fracture prevention programs in reaching desired goals;
  • The opportunity and the impact of innovative fall and fracture program for secondary prevention to overcome the schism between “bench and bedside” evidence.


Articles submitted to this collection will be published immediately following completion of peer-review and editorial acceptance. Articles submitted after 30 June 2023 will not be eligible for inclusion in the collection.

Meet the Guest Editors

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Daniela Cristina Carvalho de AbreuUniversity of São Paulo, Brazil

Daniela Cristina Carvalho de Abreu is Associate Professor of Physiotherapy, Ribeirao Preto Medical School of the University of São Paulo (FMRP/USP), Brazil. Coordinator of Laboratory of Assessment and Rehabilitation of Equilibrium (LARE). Coordinator of Balance Outpatient and the Physiotherapy Outpatient for cancer survivors, both at Clinical Hospital (FMRP-USP). Member of Core Research in Functional Performance and Rehabilitation in Chronic Degenerative Diseases (NAP-DCD), FMRP-USP. Tutor of the Gerontology Physiotherapy League at FMRP-USP and a member of the  Rehabilitation Committee of the Fragility Fracture Network-Brazil. Her research group is focused on the evaluation, prevention, and intervention of chronic degenerative diseases and focus on balance and functionality changes related to the aging process, with emphasis on solutions that may be applied to and incorporated into the care of patients with chronic non-transmissible diseases in the older population.

Carmelinda RuggieroUniversity of Perugia, Italy
Carmelinda Ruggiero is Professor of Gerontology and Geriatrics at the department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Perugia, Italy. She is also Head of the Orthogeriatric Unit of the Academic Hospital of Perugia, Italy and President of the Fragility Fracture Network-Italy. She is extremely interested in frailty and age-related conditions, including osteoporosis, falls and fragility fractures, dementia, inappropriate drug prescription and orthogeriatrics. 

  1. Due to the high prevalence of multimorbidity and realistic health service demands for fall prevention, there is growing interest in the association between multimorbidity and falls. Our study aimed to identify...

    Authors: Xin-Yi Nie, Xing-Xuan Dong, Heng Lu, Dan-Lin Li, Chun-Hua Zhao, Yueqing Huang and Chen-Wei Pan
    Citation: BMC Geriatrics 2024 24:660
  2. Preoperative carbohydrate loading in Enhanced Recovery After Surgery is an independent predictor of postoperative outcomes. By reducing the impact of surgical stress response, fasting-induced insulin resistanc...

    Authors: Kai Sing Yap, PS Loh, Yi Xian Foong, Chu Zhen Mok, Terence Ong and Hui Min Khor
    Citation: BMC Geriatrics 2024 24:401
  3. To identify risk factors for falls in older adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM).

    Authors: Larissa Barros Freire, Joaquim Pereira Brasil-Neto, Marianne Lucena da Silva, Milena Gonçalves Cruz Miranda, Lorrane de Mattos Cruz, Wagner Rodrigues Martins and Leonardo Petrus da Silva Paz
    Citation: BMC Geriatrics 2024 24:201
  4. Thrice-daily physiotherapy immediately following surgical repair of hip fracture has been shown to be safe and to reduce total hospital length of stay. However, implementing this is challenging with respect to...

    Authors: Benny Lau, Marie K. March, Alison R. Harmer, Sarah Caruana, Christopher Mahony and Sarah Dennis
    Citation: BMC Geriatrics 2024 24:183
  5. Chinese National Essential Public Health Service Package (NEPHSP) has mandated primary health care providers to provide falls prevention for community-dwelling older people. But no implementation framework is ...

    Authors: Pengpeng Ye, Junyi Peng, Ye Jin, Leilei Duan, Yao Yao, Rebecca Ivers, Lisa Keay and Maoyi Tian
    Citation: BMC Geriatrics 2024 24:178
  6. Hip fracture has a devastating impact on individuals and is an increasing burden for health systems and society. Compared to usual care, increased physiotherapy provision has demonstrated efficacy in improving...

    Authors: Marie K. March, Sarah M. Dennis, Sarah Caruana, Christopher Mahony, James M. Elliott, Stephanie Polley, Bijoy Thomas, Charlie Lin and Alison R. Harmer
    Citation: BMC Geriatrics 2024 24:149
  7. Osteosarcopenia is a common geriatric syndrome with an increasing prevalence with age, leading to secondary diseases and complex consequences such as falls and fractures, as well as higher mortality and frailt...

    Authors: Kaja Kircher, Oliver Chaudry, Armin M. Nagel, Mansour Ghasemikaram, Michael Uder, Franz Jakob, Matthias Kohl, Wolfgang Kemmler and Klaus Engelke
    Citation: BMC Geriatrics 2024 24:141
  8. Falls impact over 25% of older adults annually, making fall prevention a critical public health focus. We aimed to develop and validate a machine learning-based prediction model for serious fall-related injuri...

    Authors: Kyu-Nam Heo, Jeong Yeon Seok, Young-Mi Ah, Kwang-il Kim, Seung-Bo Lee and Ju-Yeun Lee
    Citation: BMC Geriatrics 2023 23:830
  9. Hospital length of stay (LoS) after a hip fracture likely mirrors health status; however, a too short hospitalization might increase the risk of readmission. In this national register-based study, we investiga...

    Authors: Stina Ek, Anna C. Meyer, Alexandra Wennberg, Katarina Greve, Margareta Hedström and Karin Modig
    Citation: BMC Geriatrics 2023 23:744
  10. Incidence of hip fracture is estimated to rise, increasing demands on healthcare. Our objective was to compare patients with hip fracture, a decade apart, regarding surgical characteristics and functional outc...

    Authors: Noelle Probert and Åsa G. Andersson
    Citation: BMC Geriatrics 2023 23:686
  11. Falls are the most common health problem affecting older people in long-term care facilities (LTCFs), with well-recognised adverse psychological and physical resident outcomes, and high staff burden and financ...

    Authors: Neah Albasha, Ruth McCullagh, Nicola Cornally and Suzanne Timmons
    Citation: BMC Geriatrics 2023 23:595
  12. Falls in older adults are the result of a complex web of interacting causes, that further results in other physical, emotional, and psychological sequelae. A conceptual framework that represents the reciprocal...

    Authors: Wei Xuan Lai, Angelique Wei-Ming Chan, David Bruce Matchar, John Pastor Ansah, Christopher Tsung Chien Lien, Noor Hafizah Ismail, Chek Hooi Wong, Tianma Xu, Vanda Wen Teng Ho, Pey June Tan, June May Ling Lee, Rita Siew Choo Sim and Normala Manap
    Citation: BMC Geriatrics 2023 23:586
  13. The short physical performance battery (SPPB) is an easy-to-use tool for fall risk prediction, but its predictive value for falls and fall-induced injuries among community dwellers has not been examined throug...

    Authors: Weiqiang Li, Zhenzhen Rao, Yanhong Fu, David C. Schwebel, Li Li, Peishan Ning, Jiaqi Huang and Guoqing Hu
    Citation: BMC Geriatrics 2023 23:574
  14. Hip fractures are devastating injuries causing disability, dependence, and institutionalisation, yet hospital care is highly variable. This study aimed to determine hospital organisational factors associated w...

    Authors: Rita Patel, Andrew Judge, Antony Johansen, Elsa M. R. Marques, Tim Chesser, Xavier L. Griffin, Muhammad K. Javaid, Yoav Ben-Shlomo and Celia L. Gregson
    Citation: BMC Geriatrics 2023 23:459
  15. Hip fracture is a common and debilitating injury amongst older adults. Fear of falling (FoF) and related constructs (balance confidence and falls efficacy) may impede rehabilitation after hip fracture. An upda...

    Authors: Chandini Gadhvi, Debbie Bean and David Rice
    Citation: BMC Geriatrics 2023 23:385
  16. There is well-established evidence to understand the characteristics of falls among the older patients with hip fracture in many countries, but very little knowledge existed in China. This study described the ...

    Authors: Junyi Peng, Pengpeng Ye, Jing Zhang, Xinyi Zhang, Ke Peng, Jiusheng He, Liangyuan Wen, Xianhai Wang, Zongxin Shi, Sanbao Hu, Fengpo Sun, Zishun Gong, Mingyao Sun, Tingzhuo Liu, Xinyan Liu, Ruofei Ma…
    Citation: BMC Geriatrics 2023 23:284
  17. Information on cause of death may help appraise the degree to which the high excess mortality after hip fracture reflects pre-existing comorbidities or the injury itself. We aimed to describe causes of death a...

    Authors: Kristin Holvik, Christian Lycke Ellingsen, Siri Marie Solbakken, Trine Elisabeth Finnes, Ove Talsnes, Guri Grimnes, Grethe S. Tell, Anne-Johanne Søgaard and Haakon E. Meyer
    Citation: BMC Geriatrics 2023 23:201

    The Correction to this article has been published in BMC Geriatrics 2023 23:300

  18. Falls significantly harm geriatric health and impose substantial costs on care systems and wider society. Decision modelling can inform the commissioning of falls prevention but face methodological challenges,...

    Authors: Joseph Kwon, Hazel Squires and Tracey Young
    Citation: BMC Geriatrics 2023 23:187
  19. Postal screening has not previously been validated as a method for identifying fall and fracture risk in community-dwelling populations. We examined prognostic performance of a postal risk screener used in the...

    Authors: Julie Bruce, Anower Hossain, Chen Ji, Ranjit Lall, Susanne Arnold, Emma Padfield, Martin Underwood and Sarah E. Lamb
    Citation: BMC Geriatrics 2023 23:42
  20. Nutritional status, which is associated with osteoporosis and muscle weakness is considered an important factor in the management of acute osteoporotic vertebral fracture (AOVF). However, few reports have inve...

    Authors: Tetsuto Yamaura, Fumihiro Arizumi, Keishi Maruo, Kazuya Kishima, Norichika Yoshie, Tomoyuki Kusukawa, Fumiaki Imamura and Toshiya Tachibana
    Citation: BMC Geriatrics 2022 22:1002
  21. Fracture risk assessment is still far from perfect within the geriatric population. The overall aim of this study is to better identify older women at risk for fractures, using a quantitative measure of frailt...

    Authors: Patrik Bartosch and Linnea Malmgren
    Citation: BMC Geriatrics 2022 22:951