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Fear of Falling in Older Adults with Diabetes Mellitus: The IMIAS Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2018

Patricia Hewston ,
Angeles Garcia ,
Beatriz Alvarado  and
Nandini Deshpande Open the ORCID record for Nandini Deshpande [Opens in a new window]
Patricia Hewston
Affiliation:
School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen’s University, Kingston
Angeles Garcia
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics, Queen’s University, Kingston
Beatriz Alvarado
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health Sciences, Queen’s University, Kingston
Nandini Deshpande*
Affiliation:
School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen’s University, Kingston
*
†La correspondance et les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être adressées à : / Correspondence and requests for offprints should be sent to: Nandini Deshpande, PT, PhD School of Rehabilitation Therapy Queen’s University Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6 <nandinijd@yahoo.com>
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Abstract

Several determinants of developing fear of falling (FoF) overlap with the consequences of diabetes mellitus (DM). We compared the prevalence and severity of FoF in older adults with and without DM and identified which FoF determinants contribute to FoF severity in older adults with DM. We used Canadian baseline data from the International Mobility in Aging Study (IMIAS) which identified 141 older adults with DM (DM-group;age:68.88±2.80years) and 620 without DM (noDM-group;age:68.81±2.68years). FoF was quantified with Falls Efficacy Scale–International (FES-I). FoF determinants were evaluated in demographic/health-related, physical, psychological, and social domains. High concern of FoF was more prevalent and of higher severity in 10/16 FES-I activities in the DM-group compared to the noDM-group. Higher FoF severity in the DM-group was associated with poor physical performance, being female, fall history, and clinical depressive symptoms. Protocols developed for screening and interventions may reduce FoF severity in this population.

Résumé

Plusieurs déterminants associés au développement de la peur de tomber (PT) coïncident avec les conséquences du diabète sucré (DS). Nous avons comparé la prévalence et la sévérité de la PT chez des personnes âgées avec et sans DS, et avons identifié quels déterminants de la PT contribuent à la sévérité de la PT chez les aînés avec DS. Des données de base canadiennes provenant de l’étude ‘International Mobility in Aging Study’ (IMIAS) ont été utilisées. Cent quarante-et-un adultes âgés avec DS ont été identifiés (groupe DS; âge: 68.88±2.80 ans), et 620 ont été classés sans DS (groupe sans DS; âge: 68.81±2.68 ans). La PT a été quantifiée avec l’échelle Falls Efficacy Scale–International (FES-I). Les déterminants de la PT ont été évalués en fonction de variables démographiques liées à la santé, ainsi que selon des variables physiques, psychologiques et sociales. Une préoccupation élevée pour la PT était particulièrement prévalente et sévère pour 10/16 activités FES-I dans le groupe DS, comparativement au groupe sans DS. Une PT plus grave dans le groupe DS était associée à une mauvaise condition physique, au sexe féminin, à un historique de chute et à des symptômes dépressifs. Le développement de protocoles pour le dépistage et d’interventions permettraient de réduire la gravité de la PT dans cette population.

Keywords

agingdiabetes mellitusfear of fallingfallsvieillissementdiabète de type 2peur de chuterchutes
Type
Article
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 37 , Issue 3 , September 2018 , pp. 261 - 269
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2018 

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Footnotes

*

Thank you to all the older adults for their time and participation, and to the IMIAS team members, universities, and institutes for their continuous support. This work was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research [CIHR grant number: 108751]. This work was also further supported by the Canadian Occupational Therapy Foundation and Ontario Graduate Scholarships to PH.

Conflicts of interest: None declared.

Authors’ contributions: PH: study concept and design, analyses and interpretation of data, wrote first draft, and critically revised the article for important intellectual content. AG and BA: interpretation of data and critically revised the article for important intellectual content. ND: concept and design, analyses and interpretation of data, and critical revision of the article for important intellectual content. All authors provided final approval of the version to be submitted.

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