Journal article
Falls efficacy, postural balance, and risk for falls in older adults with falls-related emergency department visits: Prospective cohort study
BMC Geriatrics, Vol.17(1), 291
2017
Abstract
Background: Risk for falls in older adults has been associated with falls efficacy (self-perceived confidence in performing daily physical activities) and postural balance, but available evidence is limited and mixed. We examined the interaction between falls efficacy and postural balance and its association with future falls. We also investigated the association between falls efficacy and gait decline. Methods: Falls efficacy, measured by the Modified Falls Efficacy Scale (MFES), and standing postural balance, measured using computerized posturography on a balance board, were obtained from 247 older adults with a falls-related emergency department visit. Six-month prospective fall rate and habitual gait speed at 6 months post baseline assessment were also measured. Results: In multivariable proportional odds analyses adjusted for potential confounders, falls efficacy modified the association between postural balance and fall risk (interaction P = 0.014): increasing falls efficacy accentuated the increased fall risk related to poor postural balance. Low baseline falls efficacy was strongly predictive of worse gait speed (0.11 m/s [0.06 to 0.16] slower gait speed per IQR decrease in MFES; P < 0.001). Conclusion: Older adults with high falls efficacy but poor postural balance were at greater risk for falls than those with low falls efficacy; however, low baseline falls efficacy was strongly associated with worse gait function at follow-up. Further research into these subgroups of older adults is warranted. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01713543. © 2017 The Author(s).
Details
- Title
- Falls efficacy, postural balance, and risk for falls in older adults with falls-related emergency department visits: Prospective cohort study
- Authors
- Yong-Hao Pua (Author) - Singapore General HospitalP H Ong (Author) - Singapore General Hospital, SingaporeRoss Clark (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and EngineeringD B Matcher (Author) - Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, SingaporeE C W Lim (Author) - Singapore General Hospital, Singapore
- Publication details
- BMC Geriatrics, Vol.17(1), 291; 7
- Publisher
- BioMed Central Ltd.
- Date published
- 2017
- DOI
- 10.1186/s12877-017-0682-2
- ISSN
- 1471-2318
- Copyright note
- Copyright © The Author(s). 2017 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
- Organisation Unit
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Health and Sport Sciences - Legacy; School of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Legacy; School of Health - Public Health
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99450693202621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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