Association of fear of falling with frailty in community-dwelling older adults: A cross-sectional study.
Yuan Qin, Junxin Li, Miranda McPhillips and 3 others
PMID 33825287WHAT IT FOUND
Among 158 independent Chinese older adults, 81% feared falling and 60.1% were frail.
Fear of falling was linked to being 7.2 times more likely to be frail after adjustment.
Key findings
01In the analysed sample, 81% reported fear of falling in at least one of seven daily activities and 60.1% were frail.
02After adjusting for age, hospitalizations in the past year, history of falling in the past 6 months, and number of chronic conditions, older adults with fear of falling were 7.2 times more likely to be frail.
03Participants reported fear of falling during stair climbing (75%), slope walking (71.5%) and bathing (69%) more often than during dressing (27.8%).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The sample was a convenience sample from five communities in one city, and 7 of 165 participants were excluded for incomplete data, so it may not represent other Chinese community-dwelling older adults. It was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that fear of falling causes frailty or that frailty causes fear of falling. Participants had to be able to walk independently and were excluded if they had dementia or cognitive impairment, so findings may not apply to people with more disability or cognitive problems. Physical activity and activities of daily living were not collected, so these possible contributors to frailty were not considered. Frailty prevalence was much higher than some prior Chinese studies using the same tool, which the authors link to sampling, sample size and regional differences.
Declared interests
The corresponding author states, on behalf of all authors, that there is no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that fear of falling causes frailty. The study was cross-sectional, and the authors state that no causal association can be drawn from the analysis.