노인의 낙상과 낙상 두려움으로 인한 활동제한이 사망에 미치는 영향 - 고령화연구패널조사(2014-2022) 분석 -

초록

This study aimed to longitudinally investigate the associations of fall experience and activity limitation due to fear of falling with mortality among Korean older adults. We analyzed data from 4,223 adults aged 65 years and older who were followed for 8 years, using data from the 5th(2014) through the 9th(2022) waves of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging(KLoSA). Participants were categorized into four groups based on their experience of falls and activity limitation. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate mortality risks. Compared to the reference group(no falls and no activity limitation), the mortality risk was significantly higher in the group with no falls but with activity limitation(Hazard ratio, HR=1.342) and in the group with both falls and activity limitation(HR=1.491), after adjusting for age, gender, drinking, regular exercise, smoking, subjective health perception, depression, and the number of chronic diseases. However, the group with fall experience but no activity restriction did not show a statistically significant increase in mortality risk. Activity limitation due to fear of falling was identified as a more critical associating factor of mortality than the fall event itself. These findings suggest that fall prevention strategies should extend beyond physical accident prevention to include psychological and behavioral interventions that screen for fear of falling and encourage the maintenance of physical activity.

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