The Effects of Short-Term Exercise Intervention on Falls Self-Efficacy and the Relationship between Changes in Physical Function and Falls Self-Efficacy in Japanese Older People

Abstract

To evaluate the effects of short-term exercise intervention on falls self-efficacy and to evaluate the relationships between baseline falls self-efficacy and changes in physical function in older people. Single-blinded randomized controlled trial. The participants were 171 subjects aged 65 and older. They were randomly assigned into an exercise intervention group or a health education group. The subjects in the exercise intervention group performed an exercise program for 3 mos. Falls self-efficacy was measured using the falls efficacy scale (FES). The measurements of physical function included static and dynamic balance, walking velocity, flexibility, and strength. There was no significant improvement of FES in either group. But there were significant negative correlations between baseline FES score and the change in maximum walking velocity (r = -0.29, P < 0.018) and knee extensor strength (r = -0.25, P < 0.040. Linear regression analysis showed that the change in static balance was related to baseline FES. The results suggest that a short-term exercise intervention had no effect, possibly because of the high baseline FES scores of the participants, on the confidence of community-dwelling older persons. However, the negative association between FES score and increases in some measures of function suggest that short-term exercise may be beneficial to a subset of older persons with lower FES scores.