Most of us know that muscle weakness, balance deficits, nerve damage, dementia are risk factors for falls. Few know that kidney disease is also a risk factor.
A recent review article documented that with worsening stage of kidney disease (stages are usually classified as Stage I (one) through V (five)) risk of falls and fractures, particularly hip fractures increases. Chronic kidney disease population is generally at much high risk of falls than general population at large (Goto NA, et al. Osteoporos Int. 2019). Increased risk of fractures has been attributed to renal osteodystrophy, a complex disease caused by impaired metabolism of calcium, phosphorus, parathyroid hormone, and vitamin D, which in turn cause abnormal bone remodeling. Increased fall risk in chronic kidney disease population was attributed to muscle weakness, neuropathy, polypharmacy, chronic illnesses, cognitive decline, impaired mobility, and frailty (World Health Organization. WHO global report on falls prevention in older age. Community Health http://www.who.int/ageing/publications/Falls_prevention7March.pdf).
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