Abstract
Objectives
The aim of this study was to determine whether mild cognitive impairment (MCI) affects
the development of fear of falling (FoF) in older adults.
Design
Prospective cohort study.
Setting
The Obu Study for Health Promotion in the Elderly, Japan.
Participants
A total of 1700 community-dwelling people aged 65 years or older without FoF at baseline
participated.
Measurements
FoF and related variables, such as physical function, self-rated health, depression,
and total number of medication doses, were investigated at baseline. Participants
also underwent cognitive tests and were divided into cognitive healthy and MCI. Fifteen
months after the baseline measurements, we collected information about the status
of FoF and fall incidence during the 15-month follow-up.
Results
At the 15-month follow-up survey, 452 participants (26.5%) reported the development
of FoF. Logistic regression analysis showed that MCI (odds ratio [95% CI] = 1.41 [1.07–1.87])
and a fall incident (3.00 [2.23–4.07]) during follow-up independently predicted the
development of FoF, after controlling for demographic factors, physical function,
self-rated health, and depression. The odds ratio for the development of FoF in participants
with both MCI and a fall incident compared with those without them was 7.34 (4.06–13.3),
after controlling for confounding factors.
Conclusion
MCI predicts the new onset of FoF in older adults, especially when they have experience
with falling. Aside from the risk of falling, it is suggested that individuals with
MCI are an at-risk population for FoF and related negative consequences in terms of
postfall syndrome.
Keywords
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Article info
Footnotes
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
This work was funded by a grant from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (Project for Optimizing Long-Term Care; B-3) and a grant from the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology (Research Funding for Longevity Sciences; 22–16).
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
