Visuospatial Ability and Memory Are Associated with Falls Risk in Older People

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Our purpose was to examine whether falls risk is associated with cognitive functions beyond executive function/attention and processing speed. METHODS: Cognitive function was measured in a population-based sample (n = 300) of people aged 60-86 years. The physiological profile assessment was used to estimate the falls risk. RESULTS: After adjusting for confounders, visual construction (p < 0.01), executive function/attention and memory (both p < 0.05) were independently associated with falls risk. The associations for visual construction (p < 0.01) and memory (p < 0.01) remained after adjusting for executive function/ attention. CONCLUSIONS: The neural basis underlying the associations of visuospatial function and memory with falls risk require further study.