PRESIDENTIAL SYMPOSIUM: THE IMPACT OF FALLS AND FEAR OF FALLING ON OLDER ADULTS’ MOBILITY: AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

摘要

Falls and Fear of falling (FOF) are common in old age. Although the adverse consequences of falls and FOF were studied extensively, most studies were either cross-sectional, focused on one context, or varied widely in definitions and outcome measures used, which prevented researchers from conducting meaningful comparisons between different nations. The International Mobility in Aging Study (IMIAS) is a population-based, cohort study (2012–2016) on community-dwelling older adults in five sites: Canada (Kingston, Saint-Hyacinthe), Albania (Tirana), Colombia (Manizales) and Brazil (Natal). Drawing on longitudinal data from IMIAS and using validated and standardized tools in all study sites, presenters in this symposium will provide an overview of their recent research to improve our understanding of factors associated with falls and FOF at an old age in diverse locations, and investigate if FOF can independently lead to disability over time. Ms. Hwang, University of Hawaii, USA will share results from her study to test whether FOF is independently associated with average minutes walking per day among older adults. Dr. Auais from Queen’s University, Canada will discuss whether FOF could independently lead to functional disabilities after a 2-year period. Dr. Vafaei from the Queen’s University, Canada will explore potential mediators that could explain the longitudinal relationship between FOF and incident disability. Finally, Dr. Gomez, University of Caldas, Colombia will present his findings after testing a simple algorithm to predict falls over time and possible implications. This work has clinical and policy implications and could improve older adults’ mobility and, ultimately, their integration in local communities.