TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2014//
TI  - Prevalence and correlates of fear of falling among elderly population in urban area of Karnataka, India
JO  - Journal of midlife health
A1  - Mane, Abhay B.
A1  - Sanjana, T.
A1  - Patil, Prabhakar R.
A1  - Sriniwas, T.
SP  - 150
EP  - 155
VL  - 5
IS  - 3
N2  - CONTEXT: Falls are a major public health problem in the elderly population. Fear of falling (FOF) among elderly persons can compromise quality of life by limiting mobility, diminished sense of well-being and reduced social interactions. India is undergoing a demographic transitional phase with urban elderly population of 6.72% in 2001. The major challenge would be on the prevention of falls among them. Hence there is a need to highlight the problems related to fall faced by the elderly in India. <br><br>OBJECTIVE: To study the prevalence of FOF and its correlates among the elderly population in urban area. <br><br>MATERIALS AND METHODS: 250 elderly subjects above 60 years were randomly selected from urban area and interviewed for FOF using Short Fall Efficacy Scale-I (FES-I), history of falls and risk factors. <br><br>RESULTS: The prevalence of FOF among the elderly was 33.2%. The significant correlates of FOF were educational status, family type, associated health problems, history of fall in past 6 months, worried of fall again among fallers, fearfulness of fall again among fallers, restriction of daily activities and depression among them. The insignificant correlates were gender and socio-economic status. <br><br>CONCLUSION: FOF is a health problem among the elderly living in urban India needs urgent attention. It represents a significant threat to socialization, independence and morbidity or mortality. Knowledge of correlates of FOF may be useful in developing multidimensional strategies to reduce it among elderly.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0976-7800
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/0976-7800.141224
ID  - ref1
ER  -