TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2016//
TI  - Fear of falling as a risk factor of mobility disability in older people at five diverse sites of the IMIAS study
JO  - Archives of gerontology and geriatrics
A1  - Auais, Mohammad
A1  - Alvarado, Beatriz E.
A1  - Curcio, Carmen-Lucia
A1  - Garcia, Angeles
A1  - Ylli, Alban
A1  - Deshpande, Nandini
SP  - 147
EP  - 153
VL  - 66
IS  - 
N2  - BACKGROUND: Fear of falling (FoF) is a common health problem among older adults. Although the relationship between FoF and limitation in daily activities has been reported, FoF's relationship to mobility disability, a transitional phase to end-stage disability, is not yet understood. We examined the relationship between FoF and mobility disability among community-dwelling older adults and explored the differences in this relationship among socio-culturally diverse sites. <br><br>DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Community. PARTICIPANTS: 1875 participants (65-74 years) were recruited from five sites and included in the analysis (Kingston, Canada: 394; St-Hyacinthe, Canada: 397; Tirana, Albania: 359; Manizales, Colombia: 341; and Natal, Brazil: 384). MEASUREMENT: FoF was quantified using the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I, range: 16-64). Mobility disability was defined as difficulty climbing a flight of stairs or walking 400m without assistance. <br><br>RESULTS: Overall, 21.5% of participants reported high FoF (FES-I>27). The average FoF scores were significantly different between the sites (p<0.001) and higher in women (p<0.001). In general, 36.2% of participants reported mobility disability. The distribution of mobility disability was significantly different at the five study sites (ranged from 19.8% at Kingston, Canada to 50.7% at Tirana, Albania, p<0.001). After adjusting for covariates, those with high and moderate FoF had about 3 times (95% CI: 2.59-3.83) and 2.5 times (95% CI: 1.99-2.91) higher risk of mobility disability, respectively, compared to those with no/low FoF. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: FoF was significantly associated with risk of mobility disability across the sites. The strength of this relationship appears to be different between the five sites.<br><br>Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0167-4943
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2016.05.012
ID  - ref1
ER  -