scholarly journals Validity and Reliability of the Healthy Aging Instrument in Older Adults With and Without Fear of Falling

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 813-813
Author(s):  
Ladda Thiamwong

Abstract An instrument to measure healthy aging has not been validated in older adults with and without fear of falling, expressing a methodological gap that limits research in this field. This cross-sectional study aimed to validate the 35-item Healthy Aging Instrument (HAI) in adults aged 60 years and over. 389 community-dwelling older adults from two provinces in Thailand were recruited. The mean age of participants was 70.4 years, and 63% were women. The HAI showed good construct validity and internal reliability in the total group and subgroups with respect to levels of fear of falling. All correlations among the HAI, Fall Risk Assessment Test, Fall Efficacy Scale-International, and full tandem stance test were significant. While Western cultures value the expression of thoughts and feelings, it is not particularly encouraged in Asian cultures. The HAI demonstrates good psychometric properties and provides the basis for measuring healthy aging in Asian older adults.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Giovanna De Roza ◽  
David Wei Liang Ng ◽  
Blessy Koottappal Mathew ◽  
Teena Jose ◽  
Ling Jia Goh ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundFalls in older adults is a common problem worldwide. Fear of falling (FoF) is a consequence of falls which has far-reaching implications including activity restriction, functional decline and reduced quality of life. This study aimed to determine the factors associated with FoF in a segment of Singapore’s community-dwelling older adults. MethodsThis descriptive cross-sectional study recruited a convenience sample of adults aged 65 and above from 4 primary care clinics from September 2020 to March 2021. Data were collected on demographic factors and clinical factors including history of falls and frailty as determined by the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS). FoF was measured using the Short Falls Efficacy Scale–International (Short FES-I), cut-off score of 14 and above indicated high FoF. Logistic regression was used to determine predictors of high FoF.ResultsOut of 360 older adults, 78.1% were Chinese and 59.7% females. The mean age was 78.3 years and 76 (21.1%) had a history of falls in the past six months. Almost half (43.1%) were mildly to moderately frail and most (80.6%) had three or more chronic conditions. The mean FoF score was 15.5 (SD 5.97) and 60.8% reported high FoF. Logistic regression found that Malay ethnicity (OR = 5.81, 95% CI 1.77 – 19.13), use of walking aids (OR = 3.67, 95% CI = 1.54 – 8.77) and increasing frailty were significant predictors for high FoF. The odds of high FoF were significantly higher in pre frail older adults (OR = 6.87, 95% CI = 2.66 – 17.37), mildly frail older adults (OR =18.58, 95% CI = 4.88 – 70.34) and moderately frail older adults (OR = 144.78, 95% CI = 13.86 – 1512.60).ConclusionsFoF is a prevalent and compelling issue in community-dwelling older adults, particularly those with frailty. The demographic and clinical factors identified in this study will be helpful to develop targeted and tailored interventions for FoF.


Author(s):  
Jaquelini Betta Canever ◽  
Ana Lúcia Danielewicz ◽  
Amanda Aparecida Oliveira Leopoldino ◽  
Maruí Weber Corseuil ◽  
Núbia Carelli Pereira de Avelar

Fear of falling and history of falls are frequent situations in older adults, which can be aggravated by sedentary behavior (SB). The objective was to establish SB cutoff values which discriminate falls and fear of falling in older adults and verify the association between these conditions. This was a cross-sectional study including 308 community-dwelling older adults. The SB was assessed by International Physical Activity Questionnaire. The outcomes were history of falling in the last 12 months and fear of falling (higher or equal than 23 points in Falls Efficacy Scale International—Brazil). The cutoff points found were >4.14 (area under curve = 0.60, 95% confidence intervals [CIs] [0.54, 0.65]) and >3.90 hr per day (area under curve = 0.59, 95% CI [0.53, 0.64]) for fear of falling and history of falls, respectively. Older adults with SB had 1.71 (95% CI [1.03, 2.84]) and 1.75 (95% CI [1.06, 2.89]) greater odds of having greater fear of falling and suffering falls, respectively.


2014 ◽  
Vol 94 (10) ◽  
pp. 1410-1420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brendon Stubbs ◽  
Laura H.P. Eggermont ◽  
Sandhi Patchay ◽  
Pat A. Schofield

Background Pain interference and psychological concerns related to falls (PCRF) are pervasive phenomena among community-dwelling older adults, yet their association remains elusive. Objective The purpose of this study was to establish whether pain interference is associated with PCRF in community-dwelling older adults. Design This was a multisite cross-sectional study. Method Two hundred ninety-five community-dwelling older adults (mean age=77.5 years, SD=8.1; 66.4% female) participated in the study. All participants completed the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) interference subscale, Short Falls Efficacy Scale–International (FES-I), Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC), modified version of the Survey of Activities and Fear of Falling in Elderly Scale (mSAFFE), and Consequences of Falling Scale (CoF). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis were conducted. In the first step of the study, sociodemographic and known risk factors for psychological concerns related to falls were inserted into the model, followed by the BPI interference subscale score in the second step. Results One hundred sixty-nine participants (57.3%) reported some pain interference. The BPI interference subscale was highly correlated with all PCRF (r>.5, P<.0001). After the adjustment for established risk factors, the BPI interference subscale significantly increased the variance in the Short FES-I (R2 change=13.2%), ABC (R2 change=4.7%), mSAFFE (R2 change=5.0%), and CoF (R2 change=10.0%). Pain interference was a significant and independent predictor in the final model for the Short FES-1 (β=0.455, P<.001), ABC (β=−0.265, P<.001), mSAFFE (β=0.276, P<.001), and CoF (β=0.390, P<.001). Limitations The study was cross-sectional. Conclusions Pain interference is an important contributing factor in each of the psychological concerns related to falls. Pain interference had the strongest impact on reducing falls efficacy and increasing older adults' concerns about the consequences of falling.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Chiebuka Okoye ◽  
Christopher Olusanjo Akosile ◽  
Fatai Adesina Maruf ◽  
Ifeoma Uchenna Onwuakagba ◽  
Sunday Tobias Urama

Abstract Background: Fear of falling (FOF) is a very pervasive problem among older adults. Consequently, many scales have been developed for its assessment. The Modified Fall Efficacy Scale (MFES) is one of the most popular FOF scales. The MFES was originally developed for use in developed countries, and thus may not be entirely suitable for use in developing countries due to cultural and environmental differences between the two country categories. This study was therefore designed to cross-culturally adapt and validate the MFES to Igbo culture and environment among community-dwelling older adults in Nnewi community using established guidelines. Methods: The original English version of the MFES (E-MFES) was translated, synthesized, back-translated, subjected to expert panel review, and pretested before producing the final Igbo version of the MFES (I-MFES). The E-MFES, the I-MFES and the Short Falls Efficacy International were randomly administered to consecutively recruited 109 consenting older adult residents of Nnewi (43.1% males; mean age=74.45±8.78 years). Concurrent, convergent and structural validities and internal consistency of the I-MFES were assessed at 0.05 level of significance. Results: All the 14 items on the E-MFES were retained on the I-MFES. The I-MFES exhibited the same structure as the E-MFES. The correlations between the corresponding scores on the I-MFES and the M-FES were all excellent (r=0.97-1.00) indicating evidence of concurrent validity of the I-MFES. The correlation between the total scores on the I-MFES and the Short Falls Efficacy International was excellent (r=9.3) indicating evidence of convergent validity. The Cronbach’s alpha value of the I-MFES is 0.97 showing evidence of excellent internal consistency. Conclusion: This study provides evidence of some aspects of validity and reliability of the I-MFES.


Author(s):  
Yoshihiro Kugimiya ◽  
Masanori Iwasaki ◽  
Yuki Ohara ◽  
Keiko Motokawa ◽  
Ayako Edahiro ◽  
...  

Oral hypofunction, resulting from a combined decrease in multiple oral functions, may affect systemic-condition deterioration; however, few studies have examined the association between oral hypofunction and general health among older adults. In this cross-sectional study, we examined the relationship between oral hypofunction and sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults. We included 878 adults (268 men and 610 women, mean age 76.5 ± 8.3 years). Tongue coating index, oral moisture, occlusal force, oral diadochokinesis (/pa/,/ta/,/ka/), tongue pressure, mas-ticatory function, and swallowing function were evaluated as indicators of oral hypofunction. Grip strength, gait speed, and skeletal muscle mass index were measured as diagnostic sarcopenia parameters. The association between oral hypofunction and sarcopenia was examined via logistic regression using sarcopenia as the dependent variable. Oral hypofunction prevalence was 50.5% overall, 40.3% in men, and 54.9% in women. The prevalence of sarcopenia was 18.6% overall, 9.7% in men, and 22.5% in women. A logistic regression showed oral hypofunction, age, body mass index, higher-level functional capacity, and serum albumin level were significantly associated with sarcopenia. Sarcopenia occurred at an increased frequency in patients diagnosed with oral hypofunction (odds ratio: 1.59, 95% confidence interval: 1.02–2.47); accordingly, oral hypofunction appears to be significantly associated with sarcopenia.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kousuke Iwai-Saito ◽  
Yugo Shobugawa ◽  
Jun Aida ◽  
Katsunori Kondo

AbstractPneumonia is a leading cause of mortality among older adults worldwide. Recently, several studies reported that frailty was associated with mortality among older adults hospitalized due to respiratory infectious diseases, including pneumonia. However, it is unknown whether frailty is associated with susceptibility to and severity of pneumonia in functionally-independent community-dwelling older adults. In this study, we examined whether frailty increased the susceptibility to pneumonia and hospitalization in older adults. We used cross-sectional data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study; the data was collected by using mail-based, self-reported questionnaires from 177,991 functionally-independent community-dwelling older adults aged ≥ 65 years. Our results showed that frailty was significantly associated with both occurrence of and hospitalization due to pneumonia after adjustments with covariates; (Preference ratio {PR} 1.92, 95% confidence interval {95% CI} [1.66–2.22] and PR 1.80, 95% CI [1.42–2.28], respectively, p < 0.001 for the both). Pre-frailty was associated only with the occurrence of pneumonia. Besides, the instrumental activity of daily living, physical strength, nutrition status, oral function, homeboundness, and depression status in frail older adults were associated with either or both occurrence of and hospitalization due to pneumonia. Our results suggest that frailty influenced the susceptibility to and severity of pneumonia in older adults.


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