Factors associated with fear of falling among community-dwelling older adults in the Shih-Pai Study in Taiwan
Journal
PLoS ONE
Journal Volume
11
Journal Issue
3
Pages
e0150612
Date Issued
2016
Author(s)
Abstract
Background Fear of falling is an important risk indicator for adverse health related outcomes in older adults. However, factors associated with fear of falling among community-dwelling older adults are not well-explored. Objectives To explore the quality of life and associated factors in fear of falling among older people in the Shih-Pai area in Taiwan. Methods This community-based survey recruited three thousand eight hundred and twenty-four older adults aged ? 65 years. The measurements included a structured questionnaire, including quality of life by using Short-Form 36, and information of fear of falling, fall history, demographics, medical conditions, insomnia, sleep quality, depression and subjective health through face-To-face interviews. Results A total of 53.4% of participants reported a fear of falling. The rate of fear of falling was higher in female subjects. Subjects with fear of falling had lower Short Form-36 scores both for men and women. Falls in the previous year, older age, insomnia, depression and worse subjective health were correlates of fear of falling for both sexes. Male-specific associations with fear of falling were the accessibility of medical help in an emergency, diabetes mellitus and stroke. In parallel, cardiovascular diseases were a female-specific correlate for fear of falling. Conclusions Fear of falling is prevalent among community-dwelling older adults. It is seems that there are gender differences in fear of falling with respect to the prevalence and associated factors in older adults. Gender differences should be considered when planning prevention and intervention strategies for fear of falling among older people. Copyright: ? 2016 Chang et al.This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
SDGs
Other Subjects
aged; Article; cardiovascular disease; cerebrovascular accident; cohort analysis; community living; depression; diabetes mellitus; falling; fear; female; health care access; human; insomnia; male; prevalence; quality of life; quality of life assessment; senescence; sex difference; Short Form 36; sleep quality; social interaction; structured questionnaire; Taiwan; depression; fear; geriatric assessment; prevention and control; questionnaire; risk factor; sleep; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders; very elderly; Accidental Falls; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Depression; Fear; Female; Geriatric Assessment; Humans; Male; Quality of Life; Risk Factors; Sleep; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders; Surveys and Questionnaires; Taiwan
Type
journal article