ObjectiveTo assess the methodological quality of systematic reviews of Tai Chi for preventing falls in the elderly and the quality of evidence for outcome indicators.MethodsPubMed, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, EMbase, CNKI, WanFang Data, CBM and VIP databases were electronically retrieved. According to the inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria, the final articles were selected and the relevant literature information was extracted by reading the abstract and the full text. The methodological quality of the included systematic reviews was evaluated using AMSTAR 2 tool, and the quality of the outcome indicators of the included systematic reviews was further graded according to the GRADE system.ResultsA total of 11 systematic reviews/meta-analyses were included. The AMSTAR 2 evaluation showed that 10 studies were in critically-low methodological quality, and 1 study was in low methodological quality. The GRADE evaluation results showed that among the 36 outcome indicators included, there were 10 intermediate quality indicators, 20 low-level quality indicators and 6 extremely low-level quality indicators. Among the indicators of intermediate quality, single-leg stand test (MD = 5.33, 95%CI 3.35 to 7.32, P< 0.01; WMD = 1.76, 95%CI −7.00 to 10.52, P< 0.01), time up and go test (MD = 1.04, 95%CI 0.67 to 1.41, P< 0.01), the berg balance scale (MD = 2.18, 95%CI 0.93 to 3.43, P< 0.01), number of falls (RR = 0.82, 95%CI 0.73 to 0.92), P< 0.01), the incidence of 2-falls (OR = 0.69, 95%CI 0.49 to 0.97, P< 0.01) and the incidence of 3-falls (OR = 0.39, 95%CI 0.21 to 0.73, P< 0.01). The results of the above indicators were statistically significant, indicating that Tai Chi was better than control group.ConclusionsAt present, the methodological quality of relevant systematic reviews of Tai Chi for preventing falls in the elderly was relatively low and the quality of the evidence was not good, so it can’t be proved that Tai Chi can effectively prevent falls in the elderly, which needs to be further studied at a high level.
ObjectiveTo analyze the incidence and mortality trends of falls among elderly in China from 1990 to 2019, and to evaluate the impact of age, period, and cohort on their long-term trends. MethodsThe joinpoint regression model and age-period-cohort model were used to analysis. The annual percent change (APC) and the average annual percent change (AAPC) were used to analyze the incidence and mortality of falls among elderly in China from 1990 to 2019. The influence of age, period and cohort on the incidence and mortality of falls were analyzed. ResultsThe standardized incidence and mortality rates of falls among the elderly in China showed fluctuating upward trends from 1990 to 2019 (AAPC=1.929%, 1.535%, P<0.001), The increase rate of falls incidence was higher in men than that in women (AAPC=1.928%, 1.923%, P<0.001), and the increase rate of falls mortality was lower in men than that in women (AAPC=1.407%, 1.562%, P<0.001). The results of the age-period-cohort model showed that the age effect and period effect coefficients of incidence and mortality of falls in Chinese elderly men and women showed an overall fluctuating upward trend, while the cohort effect coefficients showed an overall downward trend. ConclusionFrom 1990 to 2019, the age standardized incidence and mortality rate of falls among the elderly in China show fluctuating upward trends. The incidence of falls in elderly women is higher than that in men, and the mortality rate of falls in elderly men is higher than that in women. It is recommended to strengthen the prevention work for falls in the oldest old, the incidence of falls in elderly women, and the mortality of falls in elderly men.