Mohammad Auais1, Beatriz E Alvarado2, Carmen-Lucia Curcio3, Angeles Garcia4, Alban Ylli5, Nandini Deshpande6. 1. School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada. 2. Department of Public Health Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada. 3. Research Group on Geriatrics and Gerontology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Caldas, Manizales, Colombia. 4. Division of Geriatric Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada. 5. Albanian National Institute of Health, Tirana, Albania. 6. School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada. Electronic address: nandinijd@yahoo.com.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Fear of falling (FoF) is a common health problem among older adults. Although the relationship between FoF and limitation in daily activities has been reported, FoF's relationship to mobility disability, a transitional phase to end-stage disability, is not yet understood. We examined the relationship between FoF and mobility disability among community-dwelling older adults and explored the differences in this relationship among socio-culturally diverse sites. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Community. PARTICIPANTS: 1875 participants (65-74 years) were recruited from five sites and included in the analysis (Kingston, Canada: 394; St-Hyacinthe, Canada: 397; Tirana, Albania: 359; Manizales, Colombia: 341; and Natal, Brazil: 384). MEASUREMENT: FoF was quantified using the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I, range: 16-64). Mobility disability was defined as difficulty climbing a flight of stairs or walking 400m without assistance. RESULTS: Overall, 21.5% of participants reported high FoF (FES-I>27). The average FoF scores were significantly different between the sites (p<0.001) and higher in women (p<0.001). In general, 36.2% of participants reported mobility disability. The distribution of mobility disability was significantly different at the five study sites (ranged from 19.8% at Kingston, Canada to 50.7% at Tirana, Albania, p<0.001). After adjusting for covariates, those with high and moderate FoF had about 3 times (95% CI: 2.59-3.83) and 2.5 times (95% CI: 1.99-2.91) higher risk of mobility disability, respectively, compared to those with no/low FoF. CONCLUSIONS: FoF was significantly associated with risk of mobility disability across the sites. The strength of this relationship appears to be different between the five sites.
BACKGROUND: Fear of falling (FoF) is a common health problem among older adults. Although the relationship between FoF and limitation in daily activities has been reported, FoF's relationship to mobility disability, a transitional phase to end-stage disability, is not yet understood. We examined the relationship between FoF and mobility disability among community-dwelling older adults and explored the differences in this relationship among socio-culturally diverse sites. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Community. PARTICIPANTS: 1875 participants (65-74 years) were recruited from five sites and included in the analysis (Kingston, Canada: 394; St-Hyacinthe, Canada: 397; Tirana, Albania: 359; Manizales, Colombia: 341; and Natal, Brazil: 384). MEASUREMENT: FoF was quantified using the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I, range: 16-64). Mobility disability was defined as difficulty climbing a flight of stairs or walking 400m without assistance. RESULTS: Overall, 21.5% of participants reported high FoF (FES-I>27). The average FoF scores were significantly different between the sites (p<0.001) and higher in women (p<0.001). In general, 36.2% of participants reported mobility disability. The distribution of mobility disability was significantly different at the five study sites (ranged from 19.8% at Kingston, Canada to 50.7% at Tirana, Albania, p<0.001). After adjusting for covariates, those with high and moderate FoF had about 3 times (95% CI: 2.59-3.83) and 2.5 times (95% CI: 1.99-2.91) higher risk of mobility disability, respectively, compared to those with no/low FoF. CONCLUSIONS: FoF was significantly associated with risk of mobility disability across the sites. The strength of this relationship appears to be different between the five sites.
Authors: Mohammad Auais; Beatriz Alvarado; Ricardo Guerra; Carmen Curcio; Ellen E Freeman; Alban Ylli; Jack Guralnik; Nandini Deshpande Journal: Age Ageing Date: 2017-05-01 Impact factor: 10.668
Authors: Fernando Gomez; Maria Victoria Zunzunegui; Beatriz Alvarado; Carmen L Curcio; Catherine M Pirkle; Ricardo Guerra; Alban Ylli; Jack Guralnik Journal: Int J Epidemiol Date: 2018-10-01 Impact factor: 7.196
Authors: Carmen-Lucia Curcio; Yan Yan Wu; Afshin Vafaei; Juliana Fernandez de Souza Barbosa; Ricardo Guerra; Jack Guralnik; Fernando Gomez Journal: J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci Date: 2020-01-01 Impact factor: 6.053
Authors: Julie Loebach Wetherell; Emily S Bower; Kristen Johnson; Douglas G Chang; Samuel R Ward; Andrew J Petkus Journal: Am J Geriatr Psychiatry Date: 2018-04-12 Impact factor: 4.105