Fear of falling and advanced activities of daily living in elderly

Abstract

The elderly population that never fell also experienced the fear of falls, which may lead to limitations in activities of daily living, this study investigated the association between fear of falling and Advanced Activities of Daily Living (AADL) in the elderly community. The sample consisted of 645 elderly (65 years or older), clients of a health care provider, of both sexes, interviewed by the FIBRA-RJ Study. The fear of falling was evaluated by the International Falls Efficiency Scale - Brazil (FES-I-BR). The AADLs were evaluated with literature-based inventory, with the maintenance of 7 or more AADLs, out of a total of 12, considered as better functionality. The prevalence of fear of falling was 5% lower for the elderly with worse functionality for AADL compared to those with better functionality. This association between fear of falling and AADL was independent of fragility, age, sex, history of falls, self-perception of health, depression, number of chronic diseases and medication. This study discusses whether disengagement in AADL would be an adaptive mechanism in old age and possible strategies for reducing the fear of falls in the elderly.