Fear of falling in subacute hemiplegic stroke patients: associating factors and correlations with quality of life.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the associating factors of fear of falling (FOF) and the correlations between FOF and quality of life (QOL) on subacute stroke patients in Korea.


METHODS
Fifty hemiplegic subacute stroke patients in our clinic were recruited. We directly asked patients with their fear of falling and interviewed them with the Korean version of falls efficacy scale-international (KFES-I). We divided the participants into two groups; with FOF and without FOF. We compared these groups with the strength of hemiplegic hip abductor, knee extensor, ankle plantar flexor, functional ambulation category (FAC) scale, stroke specific quality of life (SSQOL), and hospital anxiety depression scale (HADS).


RESULTS
Thirty-four participants were enrolled, and more than half of the patients with subacute stroke had FOF. We compared the patients with and without FOF. According to the results, FOF was associated with the strength of hemiplegic hip abductor, knee extensor and ankle plantar flexor, FAC, total SSQOL, and domains (energy, mobility, self care, upper extremity function) of SSQOL (p<0.05). FOF was also associated with the anxiety score of HADS (p<0.05). KFES-I had a significant negative correlation with the strength of hemiplegic hip abductor, knee extensor and ankle plantar flexor, FAC, total SSQOL, and domains (energy, mobility, self care, upper extremity function) of SSQOL (p<0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
The FOF was associated with not only QOL but also with the physical and psychological factors, and in particular, anxiety. Therefore, further concerns about FOF in subacute stroke patients might be required.
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, National Rehabilitation Hospital, Seoul 142-884, Korea.
Eun Joo
EJ
Kim
Doo Young
DY
Kim
Wan Ho
WH
Kim
Kwang Lae
KL
Lee
Yong Hoon
YH
Yoon
Jeong Mi
JM
Park
Jung In
JI
Shin
Seong Kyu
SK
Kim
Dong Goo
DG
Kim
Anxiety; Falling; Fear; Quality of life; Stroke