Journal
BEHAVIOURAL NEUROLOGY
Volume 24, Issue 3, Pages 219-228Publisher
HINDAWI LTD
DOI: 10.1155/2011/274539
Keywords
Fear of falling; Parkinson's disease; mobility; quality of life; falls
Categories
Funding
- UK Parkinson's Disease Society
Ask authors/readers for more resources
In the elderly, fear of falling (FoF) can lead to activity restriction and affect quality of life (QoL). Our aim was to identify the characteristics of FoF in Parkinson's disease and assess its impact on QoL. We assessed FoF in 130 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) on scales measuring perceived self-efficacy in performing a range of activities (FES), perceived consequences of falling (CoF), and activity avoidance (SAFFE). A significant difference was found in FoF between PD patients who had previously fallen and those who had not and between frequent and infrequent fallers. Patient-rated disability significantly influenced FoF. Difficulty in rising from a chair, difficulty turning, start hesitation, festination, loss of balance, and shuffling were the specific mobility problems which were associated with greater FoF in PD. Disability was the main predictor of FoF, additionally depression predicted perceived consequences of falling, while anxiety predicted activity avoidance. The FoF measures explained 65% of the variance of QoL in PD, highlighting the clinical importance of FoF. These results have implications for the clinical management of FoF in PD.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available