1. Cognitive impairment is associated with the absence of fear of falling in community-dwelling frail older adults.
- Author
-
Shirooka, Hidehiko, Nishiguchi, Shu, Fukutani, Naoto, Tashiro, Yuto, Nozaki, Yuma, Hirata, Hinako, Yamaguchi, Moe, Tasaka, Seishiro, Matsushita, Tomofumi, Matsubara, Keisuke, and Aoyama, Tomoki
- Subjects
GERIATRIC assessment ,COGNITION disorders in old age ,CONFIDENCE intervals ,ACCIDENTAL falls ,FEAR ,FRAIL elderly ,NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL tests ,PROBABILITY theory ,LOGISTIC regression analysis ,INDEPENDENT living ,EXECUTIVE function ,PSYCHOLOGY - 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2017
- Full Text
- View/download PDF