Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique - FNRS (research fellow), Department of Epidemiology and Health Promotion, School of Public Health, Université Libre de Bruxelles (U,L,B,), Route de Lennik, 808 - CP 596; B-1070 Brussels, Belgium.
Arch Public Health. 2012 Jan 3;70(1):1. doi: 10.1186/0778-7367-70-1.
This article aims at describing, in a Belgian town, the frequency of the fear of falling and of subsequent activity restriction among non-institutionalised people aged 65 years and over, and at identifying persons affected by these two issues.
Cross-sectional survey conducted in Fontaine l'Evêque (Belgium) in 2006, using a self-administered questionnaire.
The participants could fill in the questionnaire on their own or with the help of a third party if needed. The latter were not taken into account in this article. Analyses covered 419 questionnaires. Fear of falling and activity restriction were reported by, respectively, 59.1% and 33.2% of participants. They were more frequent among fallers but also affected non-fallers. In logistic regression analyses: gender, the fact of living alone and the number of falls were significantly associated with fear of falling; gender, age and the number of falls were significantly associated with activity restriction.
Our study, despite various limitations, shows the importance of fear of falling and of subsequent activity restriction among older people, among fallers as well as among non-fallers. It also provides information, though limited, concerning persons affected by these two issues in Belgium, and in other contexts as well. Given the ageing of our populations, it is important to take these problems into account when caring for older people.
本文旨在描述比利时一个城镇中，65 岁及以上非住院人群中害怕跌倒和随后活动受限的频率，并确定受这两个问题影响的人群。
2006 年在丰特奈勒埃沃克（比利时）进行的横断面调查，使用自我管理的问卷。
参与者可以自行填写问卷，如果需要，可以在第三方的帮助下填写。本文不考虑后者。分析涵盖了 419 份问卷。分别有 59.1%和 33.2%的参与者报告了害怕跌倒和活动受限。跌倒者更常见，但也影响非跌倒者。在逻辑回归分析中：性别、独居和跌倒次数与害怕跌倒显著相关；性别、年龄和跌倒次数与活动受限显著相关。
尽管存在各种局限性，我们的研究表明，老年人、跌倒者和非跌倒者中害怕跌倒和随后活动受限的重要性。它还提供了有关比利时以及其他背景下受这两个问题影响的人群的有限信息。考虑到人口老龄化，在照顾老年人时，必须考虑这些问题。
