Association Between Exercise and Fear of Falling in Community-Dwelling Elderly Koreans: Results of a Cross-Sectional Public Opinion Survey

Abstract

Lim J-Y, Jang S-N, Park W-B, Oh MK, Kang EK, Paik N-J. Association between exercise and fear of falling in community-dwelling elderly Koreans: results of a cross-sectional public opinion survey. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2011;92:954-9. Objective: To investigate the association between habitual exercise and fear of falling in an older Korean population. Design: Cross-sectional study conducted in a population-based sample of an urban city. Setting: Urban city in South Korea. Participants: Randomly sampled older Korean people (N=828; aged >= 65y) living in a typical urban city located in South Korea. Intervention: Standardized telephone interview. Main Outcome Measures: Data on exercise habits, history of falls during the previous year, and fear of falling were obtained using a random digit dialing telephone survey method. Multiple linear regression and multiple logistic regression analyses were used to examine the association between exercise habits and the fear of falling. Results: The incidence of falls in the study cohort was 13%, and the prevalence of the fear of falling was 67.4% (47.6% in men and 80.8% in women). About 30% of those that expressed a fear of falling stated that this was the cause of their limited activity. Older men and women who exercised regularly showed a similar level of fear of falling, but they were less likely to experience fear-related activity restriction than nonexercisers. Conclusions: A regular exercise habit was found to be inversely associated with fear-related activity restriction regardless of fall experience among older Korean men and women.