Cognitive impairment is associated with the absence of fear of falling in community-dwelling frail older adults.
Geriatr Gerontol Int
; 17(2): 232-238, 2017 Feb.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-26792588
ABSTRACT
AIM:
The purpose of the present study was to explore the association between cognitive function and fear of falling in frail/non-frail older adults in a community setting.METHODS:
We recruited 483 community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and older (mean age 73.3 ± 5.1 years, 68.3% women). Fear of falling was assessed using a yes/no question, "Are you afraid of falling?" Cognitive function was measured using the Mini-Mental State Examination. The five subscores of the examination were also recorded. We used the frailty criteria developed by the Cardiovascular Health Study, and divided the participants into non-frail and frail groups according to the number of affected domains. The statistical analyses were carried out separately for these two groups.RESULTS:
A multiple logistic regression analysis showed that, in frail older adults, cognitive impairment was significantly associated with the absence of fear of falling (OR 0.04, 95% CI 0.00-0.50, P = 0.012). In addition, a stepwise multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the score on the attention and calculation subsection of the Mini-Mental State Examination was positively associated with the presence of fear of falling in frail older adults (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.08-3.12, P = 0.026). In contrast, cognitive impairment was not associated with fear of falling in non-frail older adults.CONCLUSIONS:
The results suggest that cognitive impairment, especially that in executive function, is associated with the absence of fear of falling in community-dwelling frail older adults. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17 232-238.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Accidental Falls
/
Fear
/
Cognitive Dysfunction
Type of study:
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Aged
/
Aged80
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
En
Journal:
Geriatr Gerontol Int
Year:
2017
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Japan