Citation

Woo MT, Davids K, Liukkonen J, Chow JY, Jaakkola T. Geriatr Orthop Surg Rehabil 2017; 8(4): 256-262.

Affiliation

Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/2151458517745989

PMID

29318089

PMCID

PMC5755848

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study compared occurrence of falls, cognitive function, and balance profiles across participants in elderly age categories, investigating associations between the 3 aspects in a sample of Singapore's elderly population.

METHOD: Community-dwelling elderly individuals (N = 385) were randomly recruited and grouped into "young-old (65-74 years)," "medium-old (75-84 years)," and "oldest-old (above 85 years)" groups. The Fallproof Health and Activity questionnaire, adapted Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and Berg Balance Scale (BBS) tests were used to survey information related to falls, cognition, and balance profiles.

RESULTS: Findings revealed significant differences in MMSE and BBS scores across the age groups. Participants with mild cognitive impairment (odds ratio [OR] = 1.87, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.08-3.25) and BBS score ≤40 (OR = 0.25, 95% CI = 0.14-0.46) were at the highest risk of falling.

CONCLUSION: Community-dwelling elderly individuals with subtle cognitive impairment and BBS scores ≤40 displayed an increased risk of falling.

Language: en

Keywords

Berg Balance Scale; MMSE; cognitive functioning; elderly individuals; falls