Abstract
Objectives
Fear of falling (FoF) is common in older people and may lead to physical decline,
disability, poor quality of life, and falls. Several risk factors for FoF have been
identified in cross-sectional studies, but evidence on predictors of its incidence
is scarce. We investigated the latter in community-dwelling older people undergoing
a comprehensive geriatric assessment at baseline and after a 2-year follow-up.
Design
Longitudinal study.
Setting and Participants
Convenience sample of community-dwelling people aged ≥60 years evaluated in an Irish
university hospital.
Methods
Participants were evaluated at baseline (August 2007–May 2009) and after a 2-year
follow-up. FoF was measured using the Modified Falls Efficacy Scale. Predictors of
incident FoF at 2 years were investigated.
Results
At baseline, there were 563 participants (69% female, mean age 73 years). Among individuals
that were not fearful at baseline, 105 (18.7%) developed FoF (incident FoF) after
a median follow-up of 2.1 years. Individuals reporting incident FoF were older at
baseline (P < .001), had worse performance in balance and physical function tests, and more frequently
needed a walking aid (P < .001). Anxiety (P = .012) and depressive symptoms (P < .001) were more prevalent, as well as self-reported previous falls (P < .001). In multivariate analysis, older age, walking aid use, and a higher burden
of depressive symptoms at baseline were predictors of incident FoF.
Conclusions and Implications
Almost a fifth of older adults using a walking aid and reporting depressive symptoms
at baseline developed FoF after 2 years. These identifiable prodromal factors could
help design FoF prevention strategies.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 11, 2019
Footnotes
The TRIL Clinic was funded by Intel Corporation, the Industrial Development Agency (IDA) Ireland, and GE Healthcare (grant no. TRIL2007), with operational support from the Mercer’s Institute for Successful Ageing (MISA) at St James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. The financial sponsor played no role in the design, execution, analysis and interpretation of data, or writing of the study.
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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© 2019 AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
