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      Determinants of disparities between perceived and physiological risk of falling among elderly people: cohort study

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          Abstract

          Objectives To gain an understanding of elderly people’s fear of falling by exploring the prevalence and determinants of perceived and physiological fall risk and to understand the role of disparities in perceived and physiological risk in the cause of falls.

          Design Prospective cohort study.

          Setting Community sample drawn from eastern Sydney, Australia.

          Participants 500 men and women aged 70–90 years.

          Main outcome measures Baseline assessment of medical, physiological, and neuropsychological measures, with physiological fall risk estimated with the physiological profile assessment, and perceived fall risk estimated with the falls efficacy scale international. Participants were followed up monthly for falls over one year.

          Results Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that perceived and physiological fall risk were both independent predictors of future falls. Classification tree analysis was used to split the sample into four groups (vigorous, anxious, stoic, and aware) based on the disparity between physiological and perceived risk of falling. Perceived fall risk was congruent with physiological fall risk in the vigorous (144 (29%)) and aware (202 (40%)) groups. The anxious group (54 (11%)) had a low physiological risk but high perceived fall risk, which was related to depressive symptoms (P=0.029), neurotic personality traits (P=0.026), and decreased executive functioning (P=0.010). The stoic group (100 (20%)) had a high physiological risk but low perceived fall risk, which was protective for falling and mediated through a positive outlook on life (P=0.001) and maintained physical activity and community participation (P=0.048).

          Conclusion Many elderly people underestimated or overestimated their risk of falling. Such disparities between perceived and physiological fall risk were primarily associated with psychological measures and strongly influenced the probability of falling. Measures of both physiological and perceived fall risk should be included in fall risk assessments to allow tailoring of interventions for preventing falls in elderly people.

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          Most cited references19

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          Risk factors for falls among elderly persons living in the community.

          To study risk factors for falling, we conducted a one-year prospective investigation, using a sample of 336 persons at least 75 years of age who were living in the community. All subjects underwent detailed clinical evaluation, including standardized measures of mental status, strength, reflexes, balance, and gait; in addition, we inspected their homes for environmental hazards. Falls and their circumstances were identified during bimonthly telephone calls. During one year of follow-up, 108 subjects (32 percent) fell at least once; 24 percent of those who fell had serious injuries and 6 percent had fractures. Predisposing factors for falls were identified in linear-logistic models. The adjusted odds ratio for sedative use was 28.3; for cognitive impairment, 5.0; for disability of the lower extremities, 3.8; for palmomental reflex, 3.0; for abnormalities of balance and gait, 1.9; and for foot problems, 1.8; the lower bounds of the 95 percent confidence intervals were 1 or more for all variables. The risk of falling increased linearly with the number of risk factors, from 8 percent with none to 78 percent with four or more risk factors (P less than 0.0001). About 10 percent of the falls occurred during acute illness, 5 percent during hazardous activity, and 44 percent in the presence of environmental hazards. We conclude that falls among older persons living in the community are common and that a simple clinical assessment can identify the elderly persons who are at the greatest risk of falling.
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            Development and initial validation of the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I).

            There is a need for a measure of fear of falling that assesses both easy and difficult physical activities and social activities and is suitable for use in a range of languages and cultural contexts, permitting direct comparison between studies and populations in different countries and settings. To develop a modified version of the Falls Efficacy Scale to satisfy this need, and to establish its psychometric properties, reliability, and concurrent validity (i.e. that it demonstrates the expected relationship with age, falls history and falls risk factors). Cross-sectional survey. Community sample. 704 people aged between 60 and 95 years completed The Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I) either in postal self-completion format or by structured interview. The FES-I had excellent internal and test-retest reliability (Cronbach's alpha=0.96, ICC=0.96). Factor analysis suggested a unitary underlying factor, with two dimensions assessing concern about less demanding physical activities mainly in the home, and concern about more demanding physical activities mainly outside the home. The FES-I had slightly better power than the original FES items to discriminate differences in concern about falling between groups differentiated by sex, age, occupation, falls in the past year, and falls risk factors (chronic illness, taking multiple or psychoactive medications, dizziness). The FES-I has close continuity with the best existing measure of fear of falling, excellent psychometric properties, and assesses concerns relating to basic and more demanding activities, both physical and social. Further research is required to confirm cross-cultural and predictive validity.
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              A physiological profile approach to falls risk assessment and prevention.

              The purpose of this perspective article is to describe the use of a physiological profile approach to falls risk assessment and prevention that has been developed by the Falls and Balance Research Group of the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, Sydney, Australia. The profile's use for people with a variety of factors that put them at risk for falls is discussed. The Physiological Profile Assessment (PPA) involves a series of simple tests of vision, peripheral sensation, muscle force, reaction time, and postural sway. The tests can be administered quickly, and all equipment needed is portable. The results can be used to differentiate people who are at risk for falls ("fallers") from people who are not at risk for falls ("nonfallers"). A computer program using data from the PPA can be used to assess an individual's performance in relation to a normative database so that deficits can be targeted for intervention. The PPA provides valid and reliable measurements that can be used for assessing falls risk and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions and is suitable for use in a range of physical therapy and health care settings.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Role: postdoctoral researcher
                Role: associate professor
                Role: professor
                Role: professor
                Role: professor
                Journal
                BMJ
                bmj
                BMJ : British Medical Journal
                BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.
                0959-8138
                1468-5833
                2010
                2010
                18 August 2010
                : 341
                : c4165
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Falls and Balance Research Group, Neuroscience Research Australia, University of New South Wales, Randwick, NSW 2031, Sydney, Australia
                [2 ]Department of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium
                [3 ]Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium
                [4 ]Prince of Wales Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Randwick, Sydney, Australia
                [5 ]School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, Sydney, Australia
                [6 ]Dementia Collaborative Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
                [7 ]Neuropsychiatric Institute, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, Sydney, Australia
                Author notes
                Correspondence to: S R Lord s.lord@ 123456neura.edu.au
                Article
                delk717298
                10.1136/bmj.c4165
                2930273
                20724399
                6d14d733-d4c9-453e-a458-bdda9d6e3be4
                © Delbaere et al 2010

                This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial License, which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non commercial and is otherwise in compliance with the license. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/ and http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/legalcode.

                History
                : 8 June 2010
                Categories
                Research
                Epidemiologic Studies
                Mood Disorders (Including Depression)

                Medicine
                Medicine

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