OBJECTIVES: To investigate the incidence of fear of falling (FOF) and the risk factors associated with transient versus persistent FOF in community-dwelling older adults. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Bronx County, New York. PARTICIPANTS: Three hundred eighty participants without FOF at baseline in the Einstein Aging Study aged 70 and older. MEASUREMENTS: FOF was assessed at baseline and during follow-up interviews at 2- to 3-month intervals for a minimum 2 years. Incident FOF was classified as transient or persistent FOF. Transient FOF was defined as new-onset FOF reported at only one interview, and persistent FOF was FOF reported at two or more interviews over a 2-year period. RESULTS: Twenty-four-month cumulative incidence of incident FOF was 45.4%, with 60.0% of FOF being persistent. Predictors of incident FOF included female sex (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR)=1.55, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.08-2.23), depressive symptoms (aHR=1.16, 95% CI=1.07-1.26), falls (aHR=1.50, 95% CI=1.01-2.21), and clinical gait abnormality (aHR=2.07, 95% CI=1.42-3.01). The proportion of participants with incident FOF increased linearly with increasing number of risk factors. Predictors for transient and persistent FOF were depressive symptoms and clinical gait abnormality. Female sex and previous falls were predictors of persistent but not transient FOF. CONCLUSION: FOF status in older adults may change over time, with shared and distinct risk factors for persistent and transient FOF. Understanding the dynamic nature of FOF and these risk factors will help identify high-risk groups and design future intervention studies.
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the incidence of fear of falling (FOF) and the risk factors associated with transient versus persistent FOF in community-dwelling older adults. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Bronx County, New York. PARTICIPANTS: Three hundred eighty participants without FOF at baseline in the Einstein Aging Study aged 70 and older. MEASUREMENTS: FOF was assessed at baseline and during follow-up interviews at 2- to 3-month intervals for a minimum 2 years. Incident FOF was classified as transient or persistent FOF. Transient FOF was defined as new-onset FOF reported at only one interview, and persistent FOF was FOF reported at two or more interviews over a 2-year period. RESULTS: Twenty-four-month cumulative incidence of incident FOF was 45.4%, with 60.0% of FOF being persistent. Predictors of incident FOF included female sex (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR)=1.55, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.08-2.23), depressive symptoms (aHR=1.16, 95% CI=1.07-1.26), falls (aHR=1.50, 95% CI=1.01-2.21), and clinical gait abnormality (aHR=2.07, 95% CI=1.42-3.01). The proportion of participants with incident FOF increased linearly with increasing number of risk factors. Predictors for transient and persistent FOF were depressive symptoms and clinical gait abnormality. Female sex and previous falls were predictors of persistent but not transient FOF. CONCLUSION: FOF status in older adults may change over time, with shared and distinct risk factors for persistent and transient FOF. Understanding the dynamic nature of FOF and these risk factors will help identify high-risk groups and design future intervention studies.
Authors: Joe Verghese; Herman Buschke; Lisa Viola; Mindy Katz; Charles Hall; Gail Kuslansky; Richard Lipton Journal: J Am Geriatr Soc Date: 2002-09 Impact factor: 5.562
Authors: Joe Verghese; Richard B Lipton; Charles B Hall; Gail Kuslansky; Mindy J Katz; Herman Buschke Journal: N Engl J Med Date: 2002-11-28 Impact factor: 91.245
Authors: Gertrudis I J M Kempen; Lucy Yardley; Jolanda C M van Haastregt; G A Rixt Zijlstra; Nina Beyer; Klaus Hauer; Chris Todd Journal: Age Ageing Date: 2007-11-20 Impact factor: 10.668
Authors: Nimali Jayasinghe; Martha A Sparks; Kaori Kato; Kaitlyn Wilbur; Sandy B Ganz; Gabrielle R Chiaramonte; Bradford L Stevens; Philip S Barie; Mark S Lachs; Michael O'Dell; Arthur T Evans; Martha L Bruce; JoAnn Difede Journal: Cogn Behav Pract Date: 2014-11-01
Authors: Robinson Ramírez-Vélez; Mikel Izquierdo; Antonio García-Hermoso; Leidy T Ordoñez-Mora; Carlos Cano-Gutierrez; Florelba Campo-Lucumí; Miguel Ángel Pérez-Sousa Journal: Sci Rep Date: 2022-07-12 Impact factor: 4.996