What is the relationship between fear of falling and gait in well-functioning older persons aged 65 to 70 years?
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the association between fear of falling and gait performance in well-functioning older persons.


METHODS
Survey.


METHODS
Community.


METHODS
Subjects (N=860, aged 65-70y) were a subsample of participants enrolled in a cohort study who underwent gait measurements.


METHODS
Not applicable.


METHODS
Fear of falling and its severity were assessed by 2 questions about fear and related activity restriction. Gait performance, including gait variability, was measured using body-fixed sensors.


RESULTS
Overall, 29.6% (210/860) of the participants reported fear of falling, with 5.2% (45/860) reporting activity restriction. Fear of falling was associated with reduced gait performance, including increased gait variability. A gradient in gait performance was observed from participants without fear to those reporting fear without activity restriction and those reporting both fear and activity restriction. For instance, stride velocity decreased from 1.15+/-.15 to 1.11+/-.17 to 1.00+/-.19 m/s (P<.001) in participants without fear, with fear but no activity restriction and with fear and activity restriction, respectively. In multivariate analysis, fear of falling with activity restriction remained associated with reduced gait performance, independent of sex, comorbidity, functional status, falls history, and depressive symptoms.


CONCLUSIONS
In these well-functioning older people, those reporting fear of falling with activity restriction had reduced gait performance and increased gait variability, independent of health and functional status. These relationships suggest that early interventions targeting fear of falling might potentially help to prevent its adverse consequences on mobility and function in similar populations.
Service of Geriatric Medicine and Geriatric Rehabilitation, University of Lausanne Hospital Center, Lausanne Switzerland. stephane.rochat@chuv.ch
Stephane
S
Rochat
Christophe J
CJ
Büla
Estelle
E
Martin
Laurence
L
Seematter-Bagnoud
Athanassia
A
Karmaniola
Kamiar
K
Aminian
Chantal
C
Piot-Ziegler
Brigitte
B
Santos-Eggimann
D000058:Accidental Falls; D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires