Health Discovery: Many Americans Over 40 Have a Disorder That Increases Risk of Falls

More than one-third of Americans over age 40 risk a serious fall because they suffer from an inner-ear disorder that can throw them off balance. Surprisingly, many are unaware of the problem, called vestibular dysfunction. And the chances of balance problems from this disorder increase with age. Some 85 percent of people over age 80 had a problem compared with only 33 percent of men and women in their 50s, the study reports.

Although it may seem obvious that a balance disorder would cause falls, up to now doctors attributed falls among older adults to vision disorders, bone weakness, cognitive impairment and medications. The May 25 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine includes a study that's one of the first to show how common the balance disorder is, and how much it increases the risk of falling.

The chances of falling were 12 times higher among those who were diagnosed with the dysfunction and reported problems with dizziness, note researchers at Johns Hopkins University who analyzed data on more than 5,000 men and women. Participants answered questions about their history of dizziness and falls and were tested to see how well they could maintain their balance. Of those diagnosed with the disorder, a third were unaware that they were affected. “The finding that vestibular dysfunction is relatively common was quite striking,” says Hopkins otolaryngologist Lloyd Minor, M.D., one of the paper’s authors. Because falls can be fatal—they are the leading cause of death from injury in people over 65, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—he advises people over age 50 to ask their doctors to screen them for balance problems. He says it’s as simple as having the patient stand with eyes open and then closed, and then stand on a foam mat with eyes open and then closed.

Vestibular dysfunction can be treated, often through an individualized exercise plan developed by a physical therapist to improve balance. People with diabetes are much more likely to suffer from the inner-ear disorder.

“Physicians pay too little attention to balance disorders,” says geriatrician John Morley, M.D., director of St. Louis University’s Division of Geriatric Medicine, who was not involved in the report. “This is a treatable condition, and we should be screening for it far more often than we do.”

Nissa Simon writes about health issues and lives in New Haven, Conn.