Fear of falling among community-living older adults

Abstract

Due to fear of falling, older people may restrict their activities, causing muscle weakness and impaired balance and, consequently, admission to an institute. Accordingly, fear of falling is a common and serious health problem among older individuals. The prevalence of the fear of falling and its associated factors as well as possible preventive and therapeutic methods have been widely investigated in geriatrics. The aim of our study was to describe the prevalence of the fear of falling and its associations with demographic (age, gender) and health factors (age-related chronic diseases, functional mobility, falling in the previous year, medications) among community-living older adults. Two-hundred individuals participated in the study. The fear of falling was diagnosed based on the cut-off value of the short Falls Efficacy Scale - International (FES-I). Logistic regression analysis was used to assess associations. In total, 61 participants were diagnosed with fear of falling. In our sample, the fear of falling was associated with age, the number of diseases and functional mobility. The short FES-I is simple, easy to fill-out and has a validated Hungarian version as well. By its use, people of higher age affected by multiple chronic illnesses are primarily worth of screening in order to identify those who are in need for further more detailed examinations and, if needed, more targeted interventions. Orv Hetil. 2019; 160(5): 191-197.