Vulnerability in high-functioning persons aged 65 to 70 years: the importance of the fear factor

• Published in: Aging clinical and experimental research 2010-06, Vol.22 (3), p.212-218
• Main Authors: Seematter-Bagnoud, Laurence, Santos-Eggimann, Brigitte, Rochat, Stéphane, Martin, Estelle, Karmaniola, Athanassia, Aminian, Kamiar, Piot-Ziegler, Chantal, Büla, Christophe J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1594-0667
• DOI: 10.3275/6705

BACKGROUND AND AIMSFalls efficacy has been shown to predict functional decline, but whether it is independently associated with frailty is still unclear. This study investigated the cross-sectional association between falls efficacy and the frailty phenotype in high-functioning older persons. METHODSSubjects (n=861) were a sub-sample of community-dwelling persons aged 65 to 70 years enrolled in the "Lc65+" cohort, who had gait assessment. Data included demographics, functional, cognitive, affective and health status, as well as measures of physical performance. Falls efficacy was measured with the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I) and frailty with Fried's criteria. Participants were categorized into robust (no frailty criterion) and vulnerable (1 or more criteria). Low falls efficacy was defined as a FES-I score in the lowest quartile. RESULTSOverall, 23.9% of participants were vulnerable. Compared with robust participants, they were more likely to report low falls efficacy (43.3% vs 19.1%, p