Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Jun 12:54:56.
doi: 10.11606/S1518-8787.2020054001939. eCollection 2020.

Incidence, persistence and risk factors of fear of falling in older adults: cohort study (2008-2013) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Flávia Moura Malini Drummond  1 , Roberto Alves Lourenço  2 , Claudia de Souza Lopes  1
Affiliations

Incidence, persistence and risk factors of fear of falling in older adults: cohort study (2008-2013) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Flávia Moura Malini Drummond et al. Rev Saude Publica. .

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the incidence and persistence of fear of falling in older adults and the clinical/functional, psychosocial and lifestyle-related risk factors.

Methods: A longitudinal study with 393 community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and over (110 men/ 283 women) resident in the North Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The fear of falling was assessed by the Falls Efficacy Scale-I-BR. The explanatory variables assessed were: number of comorbidities and medicines, history of falls, fracture from falling, use of walking aids, functional dependence in basic and instrumental activities of daily living, hearing and visual impairment, hand grip strength, walking speed, self-rated health, body mass index, depressive symptoms, cognitive impairment, living alone and activity level. Incidence, persistence and risk factors were estimated. Multivariate analysis was performed using Poisson Regression, obtaining relative risks (RR) and corresponding to 95% confidence intervals.

Results: Among the 393 participants, fear of falling occurred in 33.5% and was persistent in 71.3%. Incidence was found to associate with using seven or more medicines and reporting worse activity level than the prior year. Risk factors for persistent fear were: using seven or more medicines, a history of one or two falls, reduced walking speed, hearing impairment, cognitive impairment, depressive symptoms and poor or very poor self-rated health.

Conclusion: Fear of falling is a frequent and persistent condition. Many factors related to persistent fear showed no association with the incidence of fear, emphasizing the need for focused strategies to reduce risk factors that may be associated with the chronification of fear of falling.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure
Figure. Flow diagram of study participants.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. 1. Tinetti ME, Richman D, Powell L. Falls efficacy as a measure of fear of falling. J Gerontol. 1990;45(6):239-43. 10.1093/geronj/45.6.p239 - DOI - PubMed
    2. Tinetti ME, Richman D, Powell L. Falls efficacy as a measure of fear of falling. J Gerontol. 1990;45(6):239–243. doi: 10.1093/geronj/45.6.p239. - DOI - PubMed
    1. 2. Bandura A. Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychol Rev. 1997;84(2):191-215. 10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191 - DOI - PubMed
    2. Bandura A. Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychol Rev. 1997;84(2):191–215. doi: 10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191. - DOI - PubMed
    1. 3. Jefferis BJ, Illife S, Kendrick D, Kerse N, Trost S, Lennon LT, et al. How are falls and fear of falling associated with objectively measured physical activity in a cohort of community-dwelling older men? BMC Geriatr. 2014;14:114. 10.1186/1471-2318-14-114 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    2. Jefferis BJ, Illife S, Kendrick D, Kerse N, Trost S, Lennon LT, et al. How are falls and fear of falling associated with objectively measured physical activity in a cohort of community-dwelling older men? 114BMC Geriatr. 2014;14 doi: 10.1186/1471-2318-14-114. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. 4. Chang HT, Chen HC, Chow P. Fear of falling and mortality among community-dwelling older adults in the Shih-Pai Study in Taiwan: a longitudinal follow-up study. Geriatr Gerontol Int. 2017;17(11):2216-23. 10.1111/ggi.12968 - DOI - PubMed
    2. Chang HT, Chen HC, Chow P. Fear of falling and mortality among community-dwelling older adults in the Shih-Pai Study in Taiwan: a longitudinal follow-up study. Geriatr Gerontol Int. 2017;17(11):2216–2223. doi: 10.1111/ggi.12968. - DOI - PubMed
    1. 5. Choi K, Jeon GS, Cho SI. Prospective study on the impact of fear of falling on functional decline among community-dwelling elderly women. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017;14(5):1-11. 10.3390/ijerph14050469 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    2. Choi K, Jeon GS, Cho SI. Prospective study on the impact of fear of falling on functional decline among community-dwelling elderly women. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017;14(5):1–11. doi: 10.3390/ijerph14050469. - DOI - PMC - PubMed