[01] Al Faisal W., Faculty of Medicine, Damascus University, Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic. [02] Hussein H., Faculty of Medicine, Baghdad University, Baghdad, Iraq. [03] Sen K., Wolfson College (CR), University of Oxford, London, UK.

Older people frequently fall. This is a serious public health problem, with a substantial impact on health and healthcare costs. A few research studies on the size of the problem and associated factors in developing countries are available. The objectives will be to review the available data in the Eastern Mediterranean Region regarding falls epidemiology among elderly. Search on the internet was conducted for all types of the available research conducted in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) by using the following key words: fall(s), accidental falls, injuries, fracture, elderly, aged, older, and senior. Individual name of the EMR countries was included in the search inquiry. Iran and Lebanon have specific studies about the falls subject, while some other countries (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Syria) have injuries' studies. Web pages of the CDC and WHO, and medical journals as Bulletin of the WHO, and Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal were also electronically Searched. Injurious fall events coming to acute medical attention in Iran in 2003 are 143.1, 336.7, 848.3 per 100.000 person-years among males, and 190.2, 416.8, and 854.7 per 100.000 person-years among females of the age groups 60-69, 70-79, and 80+ respectively. Incidence rates of fall-related hip fracture are 38.0, 135.8, and 501.9 per 100.000 person-years among males, and 67.3, 214.7, and 564.6 per 100.000 person-years among females of the age groups 60-69, 70-79, and 80+ respectively. The most common place of a fall was in the home in 63.5% of the male hip-fracture cases, and in 80.6% of the female hip-fracture cases. The available data from some countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region refer to the potentially high importance of the problem in the region as a whole. More research is needed to investigate circumstances, causes and risk factor.

Falls, Accidental Falls, Injuries, Fracture, Older Persons, Elderly, Aged, Senior, Prevention, Epidemiology, Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean

[01] Feder G, Cryer C, Donovan S, Carter Y. Guidelines for the prevention of falls in people over 65. BMJ. 2000 October 21; 321(7267): 1007–1011. [02] CDC. Preventing Falls: How to Develop Community-based Fall Prevention Programs for Older Adults. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/images/CDC_Guide-a.pdf. Accessed on Thursday 26 March 2015. [03] SHOBHA S. RAO, 2005. Prevention of Falls in Older Patients. American Family Physician. Vol. 72/No. 1 (July 1, 2005). [04] Bergland A, and Wyller T B, 2004. Risk factors for serious fall related injury in elderly women living at home. Injury Prevention. 2004; 10: 308-313. [05] Stevens JA, and Olson S, 2000. Reducing Falls and Resulting Hip Fractures Among Older Women. CDC, MMWR, Recommendations and Reports. March 31, 2000 / 49(RR02); 1-12. [06] WHO, 2012. Falls. Available from: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs344/en/. accessed Tuesday 24 3 2015. [07] Stubbs D, and Haslam R, 2005. Understanding and Preventing Falls. Published by Taylor & Francis in Dec 30, 2005. Pages: 90-91. [08] Parisa Taheri Tanjani, Elaheh Ainy, Samaneh Akbarpuor, Hamid Soori. Study of characteristics of falls among Iranian elders. Jlh safety promotion and injury prevention. Volume 2 Number 4 Winter 1393, pages 313 to 320. [09] Abolhassani F, Moayyeri A, Naghavi M, Soltani A, Larijani B, Shalmani HT, 2006. Incidence and characteristics of falls leading to hip fracture in Iranian population. Bone 39 (2006) 408-413. [10] Sima Ghassemi, Baharak Najafi, Alireza Memari, Neda Nazari, Fariborz Bakhtiari, Mahtab Alizadeh Khoei, Seyed Masood Arzaghi, Shervan Shoaee, Neda Mehrdad, Farshad Sharifi. ELDERLY FALLS RISK FACTORS: A PROSPECTIVE LONGITUDINAL STUDY IN KAHRIZAK CHARITY FOUNDATION. Iranian journal of Diabetes and Metabolism (Elderly Health Research Center, Special Issue); Vol. 13, No 6, 2014. [11] Hashmi Z, Danish SH, Ahmad F, Hashmi M. Falls in Geriatric Population- A cross sectional study for assessment of the risk factors. J Dow Uni Health Sci 2013; 7(3): 94-100. [12] Jamebozorgi A, Kavoosi A, Shafiee Z, Kahlaee AH, Raei M. Investigation of the prevalent fall-related risk factors of fractures in elderly referred to Tehran hospitals. Medical Journal of Islamic Republic of Iran, Vol. 27, No.1, Feb. 2013, pp. 23-30. [13] Ghodsi SM, Roudsari BS, Abdollahi M, Shadman M. Fall-related injuries in the elderly in Tehran. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0020-1383(02)00376-5. International Journal of the Care of the Injured. November 2003. Volume 34, Issue 11, Pages 809–814. [14] Fayad R, Nuwayhid I, Tamim H, Kassak K; Khogali M, 2003. Cost of work-related injuries in insured workplaces in Lebanon. Bulletin of the World Health Organization vol.81 no. 7 Genebra 2003. [15] Mohammed A. Abdal Qader, Rahmah Mohd. Amin, Shamsul Azhar Shah, Zaleha Md. Isa, Khalib Abdul Latif, Hasanain Faisal Ghazi. Psychological risk factors associated with falls among elderly people in Baghdad city, Iraq. Vol.3, No.7, 441-445 (2013) Open Journal of Preventive Medicine http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ojpm.2013.37059 [16] Sibai AM, Fletcher A, Hills M, Campbell O, 2001. Non-communicable disease mortality rates using the verbal autopsy in a cohort of middle aged and older populations in Beirut, Lebanon during wartime, 1983-93. J. Epidemiol. Community Health 2001; 55; 271-276. [17] Stevens JA, Ballesteros MF, Mack KA, Rudd RA, DeCaro E, Adler G. Gender differences in seeking care for falls in the aged Medicare Population. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2012; 43: 59–62.) [18] CDC. Injury Prevention and Control: Data and Statistics. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/ Accessed on Sunday 31 Jan 2016. [19] Donald IP, Bulpitt CJ. The prognosis of falls in elderly people living at home. Age and Ageing 1999; 28: 121–5. [20] Su Fen Chen. INTERVENTION TO PREVENT FALLS THROUGH HEALTH EDUCATION FOR ELDERLY IN TAIWAN Pak. J. Statist. 2013 Vol. 29(5), 535-546. [21] Christine Branche, Ph.D,, CDC, Reducing Falls and Resulting Hip Fractures Among Older Women, March 31, 2000 / 49(RR02); 1-12. [22] Sterling DA, O'Connor JA, Bonadies J. Geriatric falls: injury severity is high and disproportionate to mechanism. Journal of Trauma–Injury, Infection and Critical Care 2001; 50(1): 116–9. [23] Alexander BH, Rivara FP, Wolf ME. The cost and frequency of hospitalization for fall–related injuries in older adults. American Journal of Public Health 1992; 82(7): 1020–3. [24] Learn NOT to fall. How Often Falls Occur. Available from: http://www.learnnottofall.com/content/fall-facts/how-often.jsp Accessed on 31 Jan 2016. [25] Stevens JA, Corso PS, Finkelstein EA, Miller TR. The costs of fatal and nonfatal falls among older adults. Injury Prevention 2006a; 12: 290–5.