Relationship between fear of falling and physical activity in older adults

Fear of falling (FOF) is a major health problem among the elderly. One of the major consequences of fear of falling is activity restriction. The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of fear of falling among a population of older adults and its correlation with physical activity. This was a cross-sectional study in which 204 elderly people were questioned in Birjand City, Iran. Data collection was performed by structural questionnaires. FOF was measured using the FES-I questionnaire, and physical activity was measured using the CHAMPS questionnaire. To analyze the data we used SPSS20 software, and statistical tests such as T test, and one way ANOVA and PearsonCorrelationCoefficient were applied. Mean age was 65.78±6.78 years. 33.8% of elderly had history of fall, 58.2% had Low-intensity physical activity, 34.5% had moderate-intensity physical activity and only 7.3% had high-intensity physical activity. There was significant relationship between FOF with physical activity (r = - 0.332, P<0.001). FOF can lead to restriction and decrease physical activity. So psychology and counseling interventions should be considered in elderly with history fall.