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. 2022 Feb 9:17:129-140.
doi: 10.2147/CIA.S328423. eCollection 2022.

Association Between Fear of Falling and Frailty in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Systematic Review

Larissa Franciny de Souza  1 , Jaquelini Betta Canever  1 , Bruno de Souza Moreira  2 , Ana Lúcia Danielewicz  1 , Núbia Carelli Pereira de Avelar  1
Affiliations

Association Between Fear of Falling and Frailty in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Systematic Review

Larissa Franciny de Souza et al. Clin Interv Aging. .

Abstract

Background/objective: Fear of falling (FoF) and frailty are common problems in older adults. FoF can lead to self-imposed restriction of activities and then further decline in physical capacities that predispose older adults to frailty. Evaluating the association of these two geriatric syndromes may be the first step for understanding their complex relationship and might ultimately lead to establishing therapeutic goals and guiding treatments for older adults with frailty. This systematic review was conducted to provide evidence regarding the association between FoF and frailty.

Methods: All the articles that provided information on the association between FoF and frailty were selected from PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, and EMBASE in search of relevant papers. Articles reporting information on the association between FoF (exposure) and frailty (outcome), with older adults (age ≥60 years) living in the community (ie, living either at home or in places of residence that do not provide nursing care or rehabilitation) were included. Only original articles with observational design (cross-sectional or longitudinal/cohort) were included. The methodological quality of included articles was evaluated independently by the two assessors through the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) and the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal checklist for longitudinal and cross-sectional studies, respectively.

Results: The initial searches found 4,342 articles, of which 10 articles were included in this review: 7 cross-sectional and 2 longitudinal studies, and 1 study with cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. The total sample was composed of 6,294 community-dwelling older adults (61.8% women). Among the longitudinal studies, adjusted odds ratios ranged from 1.18 (95% CI = 1.02; 1.36) to 9.87 (95% CI = 5.22; 18.68), while the adjusted odds ratios of the cross-sectional studies ranged from 1.04 (95% CI = 1.02; 1.07) to 7.16 (95% CI = 2.34; 21.89).

Conclusion: FoF increases the risk of frailty in community-dwelling older adults. The knowledge of this association is of utmost importance in clinical practice, since it can help health professionals in the development of rehabilitation, prevention, and health promotion protocols. In addition, these findings can contribute to the development of public health policies and actions aimed at reducing the FoF and consequently the frailty.

Prospero: CRD42021276775.

Keywords: fear of falling; frailty; geriatric syndromes; older adults; systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study flowchart. Adapted from Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ. 2021;372:n71.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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