1. Introduction
falls reduction, nonfatal injury
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of cognitive training on the risk of experiencing a fall across 10 years. The study used data from the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) randomized controlled trial. Older adults aged 65–94 were randomly assigned to speed of processing, memory, or reasoning training or to a no-contact control group (Falling is common, costly, and the leading cause of nonfatal injury for older adults in the US [Physical activity interventions currently have the strongest evidence for falls reduction [A growing body of experimental evidence demonstrates that cognitive training can have positive transfer effects on complex physical functions, a correlate of falls, in older adults [While some cognitive training programs, especially speed of processing (also known as divided attention and useful field of view training), have the potential to positively impact falls, such training may not be equally effective across all individuals. Samples at increased risk for future falls and other mobility outcomes may receive greater benefits from some cognitive training programs across a breadth of outcome measures, including physical function [The goal of the current study was to examine the effect of three cognitive training programs on the time to the first reported fall across 10 years in a sample of community-dwelling older adults. Based on prior research on the impact of cognitive training programs on complex physical functions, we hypothesized that cognitive training, particularly the speed of processing and reasoning training arms, would be associated with a delay in the time to a first reported fall after controlling for complex physical function and demographic covariates. Additionally, given the importance of baseline risk status as a moderator of transfer effects [