Relationship Between Fear of Falling, Mental Wellbeing, and Depression in the Elderly With Cardiovascular Disease: A Predictive Study

Background & Aims of the Study: 

This study aimed to determine the relationship between fear of falling, mental wellbeing, and depression in the elderly with cardiovascular disease.

This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 283 elderly selected per the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The required data were collected using the Center of Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D), the Falls Efficacy Scale International (FES-I), and the World Health Organization- Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5). Data were analyzed in SPSS using descriptive statistics and regression analysis methods. The significance level was considered 0.05.

The obtained results suggested that gender, place of residence, mental wellbeing, and depression were significantly associated with fear of falling in the examined sample (P<0.001). Furthermore, for every 10 units of welfare increase, the average fear of falling in the elderly decreases by 2 units. Additionally, on average, the fear of falling for the elderly females was 1.55 points higher than that in their male counterparts. Moreover, the average fear of falling for the elderly who were depressed was 3.37 points higher than that in the elderly without depression. Eventually, the average fear of falling in the elderly who lived in urban areas was 2.68 points higher than that in the elderly who lived in rural areas.

Based on the current research findings, depression and mental wellbeing were predictors of fear of falling; thus, they can be considered as effective factors in interventions to reduce the fear of falling and falling in the elderly