Article

Fear of falling may be as debilitating as the fall itself, leading to a
restriction in activities and even a loss of autonomy. The main
objective was to evaluate the prevalence of the fear of falling among elderly
fallers. The secondary objectives were to determine the factors associated with
the fear of falling and evaluate the impact of this fear on the activity "getting
out of the house". Prospective study conducted between 1995
and 2006 in which fallers and patients at high risk for falling were seen at
baseline by the multidisciplinary falls consultation team (including a
geriatrician, a neurologist and a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician)
and then, again 6 month later, by the same geriatrician. The fear of falling was
evaluated with a yes/no question: "are you afraid of falling?". RESULTS: Out of
635 patients with a mean age of 80.6 years, 502 patients (78%) expressed a fear
of falling. Patients with fear of falling were not older than those who did not
report this fear, but the former were mostly women (P<0,001), who experienced
more falls in the 6 months preceding the consultation (P=0.01), reported more
frequently a long period of time spent on the floor after a fall (P<0.001), had
more balance disorders (P=0.002) and finally, were using more frequently a
walking technical aid (P=0.02). Patients with fear of falling were not going out
alone as much as the fearless group (31% vs 53%, P<0.0001). Eighty-two percent of
patients in the fearful group admitted to avoiding going out because they were
afraid of falling. CONCLUSION: The strong prevalence of the fear of falling
observed in this population and its consequences in terms of restricted
activities justifies systematically screening for it in fallers or patients at
risk for falling.
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Langue : ANGLAIS ; FRANCAIS