Persistent hypersensitivity after repeat concussion is associated with chronic cognitive dysfunction.

Falls represent a major public health challenge and disproportionately affect the health, independence, and longevity of older adults. Global guidelines emphasize that fall prevention requires assessment of modifiable risks and interventions that include exercise, medication review, environmental modification, vision optimization, and individualized multifactorial management (, ). In China, rapid population aging has intensified the burden of falls. National data show that falls are a major cause of injury-related mortality among older adults, and the disease burden attributable to falls has increased substantially over recent decades (, ). Evidence supports the effectiveness of fall-prevention interventions, especially supervised balance and resistance training, Tai Chi, high-dose education or cognitive-behavioral approaches, and multifactorial assessment with targeted treatment (). However, effectiveness in real-world community settings depends not only on the availability of interventions but also on whether older adults recognize their own risk and are willing to act (). Fall-risk perception, broadly defined as a person’s subjective appraisal of the likelihood and potential consequences of falling, is therefore relevant to preventive behaviors such as home modification, appropriate use of assistive devices, help-seeking, and participation in strength and balance training (). In this study, fall-risk perception was used as an umbrella construct comprising perceived susceptibility, anticipated severity, perceived controllability, and the personal and relational meaning of falling. It differs from perceived susceptibility, which concerns the judged likelihood of a fall; fear of falling, which is primarily an affective response; fall efficacy, which refers to confidence in performing activities without falling; and concern about falling during activities, which is commonly assessed with the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (). Fall-risk awareness refers more specifically to recognition of fall hazards and the degree to which subjective appraisal corresponds with objective risk. Although these constructs are related and may coexist, they are not interchangeable (, ). Consistent with the phenomenological orientation, the present study examined how participants experienced, interpreted, and communicated fall risk rather than treating it as a single measurable variable.