Comparison of Walking, Muscle Strength, Balance, and Fear of Falling Between Repeated Fall Group, One-time Fall Group, and Nonfall Group of the Elderly Receiving Home Care Service

Abstract

This study suggests that intervention program should be tailored to fall risk factors to enhance gait and balance and lower body muscle strength and reduce the fear of falling to prevent repeated incidences of falls in this population.

Understanding fall risk factors in community‐dwelling older adults: A cross‐sectional study

“…Additionally, our results related to health status showed that several chronic diseases were more prevalent in the fall subgroup compared with the non‐fall subgroup; moreover, it should be mentioned that diabetes and/or comorbidity appeared as other potentially important risk factors but did not reach statistical significance ( p = .066 and p = .067, respectively). Other researchers have found similar results, such as those obtained in prior studies carried out on older populations of distinct ethnicities (Jeon et al, ; Nicklett et al, ; Yang et al, ). As pointed out by Vinik et al (), diabetes is one of the major risk factors for falling due to loss of strength, sensory perception and balance as a consequence of peripheral neuropathy and cognitive deficit.…”

“…With regard to sociodemographic characteristics, female gender is identified as an influential risk factor for falls in this population, which is in agreement with previous studies carried out in the Portuguese older population (Moniz‐Pereira, Carnide, Machado, Andre, & Veloso, ; Moniz‐Pereira et al, ). A higher prevalence of falls is also reported in women in other regions of the world (Jeon, Gu, & Yim, ; Lavedán et al, ; Nicklett, Taylor, Rostant, Johnson, & Evans, ), which could be linked to an inherent bone fragility in postmenopausal women caused by osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, obesity and vitamin D deficiency (Ahmadiahangar et al, ; Rezende Cde, Gaede‐Carrillo, & Sebastião, ). For this reason, some countries, such as the United States, recommend screening for osteoporosis in all women ≥65 years and in younger women at increased risk (USPSTF, ).…”

“…This may be due to the possibility of a strong effect of the lower body strength variable in the model, which would render the other variables less relevant from a statistical point of view. The statistically significant relationship between muscle strength and falls is reported in systematic reviews (Moreland, Richardson, Goldsmith, & Clase, ) and many recent cross‐sectional studies (Ahmadiahangar et al, ; Gafner et al, ; Jeon et al, ; Scott et al, ; Yang et al, ), including those carried out in Portugal (Moniz‐Pereira et al, , ). As defined by Gray, Glenn, and Binns (), sarcopenia is an age‐related lean tissue mass loss that leads to reduced physical function, muscular strength and mobility.…”

Effect of a Comprehensive Health Care Program on Blood Pressure, Blood Glucose, Body Composition, and Depression in Older Adults Living Alone: A Quasi-Experimental Pretest–Posttest Study

“…In this study, a slight increase in muscle mass was noted in the experimental group, whereas a significant decrease was observed in the control group (t = 2.13, p = 0.046). Existing studies show that limited physical activity in older adults causes muscle atrophy, which, in turn, reduces overall physical function [21,22]. These studies also suggest that physical function in older adults cannot be improved by temporary short-term physical programs, but that it can be improved by consistent long-term physical activity.…”

Relación entre el riesgo de caídas y deterioro cognitivo en adultos mayores atendidos en el Centro Médico Naval “Cirujano Mayor Santiago Távara” 2010-2015*

“…Las caídas nos son eventos aleatorios, ocurren en parte debido a deficiencias fisiológicas incluyendo deterioro del equilibrio, debilidad muscular y el enlentecimiento del tiempo de reacción que se da conforme aumenta la edad [4,5] . Así también, las caídas pueden asociarse a disfunción cognitiva; por ejemplo, se postula que una disminución sutil en el funcionamiento cognitivo contribuye a la inestabilidad postural, por lo que el riesgo de caídas aumenta [6,7] .…”