Ala' S Aburub1, Susan P Phillips2, Mayis Aldughmi3, Carmen-Lucia Curcio4, Ricardo Oliveira Guerra5, Mohammad Auais6. 1. Physical Therapy Department, Faculty of Allied Medical Sciences, Isra University, Amman, Jordan. 2. Department of Family Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada. 3. School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Department of Physical Therapy, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan. 4. Research Group on Geriatrics and Gerontology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad De Caldas, Manizales, Colombia. 5. Department of Physiotherapy, Federal University of Rio Grande Do Norte, Natal, Brazil. 6. School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Abstract
Background: Older adults with heart disease (HD) are more likely to report a higher prevalence of falls compared to those without HD. A knowledge gap currently exists regarding the factors associated with fear of falling (FOF) among older adults with HD. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate FOF and identify factors associated with FOF among older adults with HD. Methods: Data came from a secondary analysis of the International Mobility in Aging Study (IMIAS) baseline (2012) data. FOF was measured using the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I). Stepwise linear regression was used to identify factors associated with FOF. Results: A total of 429 participants identified themselves as having heart disease diagnosed by their physician (mean age 69.5 ± 2.9). Older adults with HD reported on average (25.6) higher FOF than those without HD. For older adults with HD, FES-I increased significantly by 1.3, 1.0, and 0.6 points, when the Short Physical Performance Battery, the Leganes Cognitive Test, and QOL total scores decreased by one point. FES-I also significantly increased by 3.2 when income was insufficient compared to sufficient or very sufficient income. Discussion: FOF is multifactorial, and our findings provide a base for developing future management rehabilitation intervention programs aimed at decreasing FOF among older adults with HD.
Background: Older adults with heart disease (HD) are more likely to report a higher prevalence of falls compared to those without HD. A knowledge gap currently exists regarding the factors associated with fear of falling (FOF) among older adults with HD. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate FOF and identify factors associated with FOF among older adults with HD. Methods: Data came from a secondary analysis of the International Mobility in Aging Study (IMIAS) baseline (2012) data. FOF was measured using the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I). Stepwise linear regression was used to identify factors associated with FOF. Results: A total of 429 participants identified themselves as having heart disease diagnosed by their physician (mean age 69.5 ± 2.9). Older adults with HD reported on average (25.6) higher FOF than those without HD. For older adults with HD, FES-I increased significantly by 1.3, 1.0, and 0.6 points, when the Short Physical Performance Battery, the Leganes Cognitive Test, and QOL total scores decreased by one point. FES-I also significantly increased by 3.2 when income was insufficient compared to sufficient or very sufficient income. Discussion: FOF is multifactorial, and our findings provide a base for developing future management rehabilitation intervention programs aimed at decreasing FOF among older adults with HD.
Entities:
Keywords:
Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I); Fear of falling (FOF); healthy age-matched group; heart disease