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Fall is the leading cause of disability and mortality due to unintentional injury in older adults. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with knee pain, fear of falling, and quality of life among community-dwelling older adults in Northern Thailand. A cross-sectional study was conducted among older adults aged 60 and over. A total of 369 participants were enrolled from April to May 2024. Oxford knee score, a short version of the Falls Efficacy Scale International (FES-I) and World Health Organization quality of life-BREF-Thai, was measured. The results showed that the mean age was 69.4 years and 47 (12.7%) had a history of falls in the previous year. The prevalence of fear of falling was 39.3% for low, 22.5% for moderate, and 38.2% for high concern. Age, marital status, alcohol, history of falls, hypertension, arthritis, and osteoporosis were associated with fear of falling. After adjusting to age, gender, body mass index, education, marital status, smoking, alcohol, history of falls, and chronic disease, osteoarthritis of the knee was positively associated with increasing fear of falling (β: 0.361; p <0.001), while quality of life was negatively associated with fear of falling (β: -0.064; p <0.011). In conclusion, the identified determinants of fear of falling among the elderly indicated the need for fear of falling prevention programs targeting not only individual lifestyles but also chronic diseases. This study provides useful information that might help to develop and adopt effective policies for fear of falling control in Thailand., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2024 The Author(s).)

We aimed to examine the characteristics of maladaptive fall risk appraisal (FRA), discrepancies between physical and perceived-fall risk, and their associations with falls. Fall risk appraisal was determined using the full-tandem stand test as an objective measure and the Fall Efficacy Scale-International as a subjective measure, and 433 adults aged ≥60 years from Thailand were classified into four groups: irrational (low physical/high perceived risk), incongruent (high physical/low perceived risk), congruent (high physical/high perceived risk) and rational (low physical/low perceived risk) FRAs. Only 20.8% of adults aged ≥60 years had rational FRA. The rest of the participants had either irrational (57.3%) or incongruent (2.3%), or congruent (19.6%) FRAs. Approximately 74% of those with congruent FRA reported experiencing a fall last year, followed by incongruent (60%), irrational (41.1%), and rational FRAs (27.8%, p <.001). After covariates adjustment, participants with congruent FRA were 3.06 times more likely of falling than those with rational FRA (p =.011). Maladaptive FRA is highly prevalent among adults aged ≥60. Identifying maladaptive FRA is essential for ensuring that adults aged ≥60 receiving early treatment associated with falls. Preventing a transition from rational to irrational, incongruent, and congruent fall risk appraisals is vital to prevent falls and mitigate this problematic health condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The fear of falling (FOF) is defined as low perceived self-efficacy at avoiding falls during the nonhazardous activities of daily life. The FOF can lead to negative consequences including the physical change, and it might decrease the quality of life of the elderly. The aim of study was to assess the prevalence of FOF and identify the associated factors among Thai elderly patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed. A total of 101 participants 60 years or older were recruited from October to November 2017. The data obtained through questionnaires, face-to-face interviews, and gait and balance tests that were measured by the researchers. The structured questionnaire included demographic data, history of falls, the Thai geriatric depression scale (TGDS), the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I), and the Thai mental state examination (TMSE). The balance and gait tests were conducted using the timed up and go (TUG) test and the Berg balance scale. Results: The prevalence of FOF was 70.3%. The logistic regression analysis showed a significant association between FOF and female gender (odds ratio [OR], 4.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.63-10.46), whereas factors were not associated with FOF included age, living status, education, number of underlying disease, comorbidities, number of drugs used, history of fall, consequences of falls, visual acuity, TGDS, TMSE, TUG, and Berg balance test. In the multivariate model, the factors associated with the FOF were gender (OR, 4.28; 95% CI, 1.58-12.14) and hypertension (OR, 3.46; 95% CI, 1.11-11.72). Conclusion: The prevalence of FOF was high among Thai elderly patients. The present findings may help health care providers identify individuals who have FOF. These people could benefit from interventions, which focus on gender differences and hypertension aimed at reducing the FOF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the decades, cross-cultural research has been conducted to increase understanding of health and illness phenomena across different cultures and populations. However, researchers are faced with issues of translation from the source language to the target language, even with instruments developed for use in cross-cultural research. Therefore, the process of translation is a crucial one in order to maintain the conceptual, content, semantic, and construct equivalences across the two languages and cultures which is essential for credibility of the measurement results. The purpose of this article is to describe the process of the translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Falls Efficacy Scale-International. It was translated into Thai using ten steps, including translation and back-translation as well as checking with experts and the target audience to assure cultural equivalence. Challenges with some wordings and cultural differences in daily life were identified and addressed with strategies to manage them so that an appropriate version of the tool was developed and ready for future research with community-dwelling Thai older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Depression is a major issue in the aging population, which may be related to fear of falling (FOF) and falls contributing to increased morbidity and mortality. The aim of the study was to assess the tridirectional associations between probable depression (PD), FOF and falls in a longitudinal study in Thailand., Methods: Longitudinal data of participants (≥45 years; N = 3708) from two consecutive waves (in 2015 and 2017) of the Health, Aging and Retirement in Thailand (HART) study were analysed. PD was assessed with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, self-reported FOF and history of falls., Results: Having no PD in 2015 and PD in 2017 (aOR: 2.35, 95% CI: 1.67 to 3.30), and having both PD in 2015 and 2017 (aOR: 3.46, 95% CI: 1.92 to 6.23) were positively associated with incident FOF with activity avoidance, and no FOF in 2015 and FOF in 2017 (aOR: 2.29, 95% CI: 1.77 to 2.95), and both FOF in 2015 and 2017 (aOR: 2.38, 95% CI: 1.69 to 3.36) were positively associated with incident PD. Two or more falls in 2015 (aOR: 2.03, 95% CI: 1.29 to 3.19) was positively associated with incident PD, and both PD in 2015 and 2017 (aOR: 3.10, 95% CI: 1.40 to 6.48) were positively associated with incident multiple (≥2) falls., Conclusions: We found tridirectional associations between PD, FOF and falls. It is suggested to screen and manage older adults for PD, FOF and fall history simultaneously., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Aim To determine if the findings at month 1 could correctly identify stroke patients who fell in the 6 months post-stroke; and to describe the characteristics of fallers and non-fallers, and their courses of recovery. Methods Of 133 volunteers who had their first stroke, 98 participants completed the assessment three times. Fall incidence and history were collected by telephone every 2 weeks and recorded. Fear of falling measured by the Fall Efficacy Scale ( FES- S), the amount of time that physical therapy was received, and standardized outcome measures according to the International Classification Functioning, Disability and Health model were measured at month 1, 3 and 6 after stroke. The Berg Balance Scale, Barthel Index, Timed Up & Go, 10-m (10mWT) and 2-min walks and participation subscore of Stroke Impact Scale were used for assessment. Results A total of 25 patients (25%) fell in the 6 months; 13 had multiple falls. Fallers showed less improvement in impairments, activity and community participation compared with non-fallers. The risk of falling was greater than 1 (odds ratio [ OR]) when assessed by all outcome measures at month 1, and was double at month 3. The FES- S ≥33 at month 1 could accurately identify a faller ( OR 2.99, 95% confidence interval 1.07-8.37), moderate to high sensitivity (76%), specificity (49%), and positive and negative predicted value (34% and 85%). Conclusions Fear of falling was the best indicator of falling. Receiving physical therapy after a stroke seems to highly contribute to improved functional independence of activities in daily living, and increased self-confidence and cognitive function. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2014; 14: 778-785. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Falls are common in older people. The fear of falling (FOF) can lead elderly persons to restrict their activities which reduces quality of life. We aimed to estimate the prevalence and factors associated with FOF in community-dwelling Thai elderly to improve screening, treatment and prevention policies and practices., Objectives: We aimed to estimate the prevalence and factors associated with FOF in suburban-dwelling Thai seniors., Methods: Seniors aged 60-85 years old from 4 suburban communities near Bangkok, Thailand, were interviewed and examined. Questionnaires were used to collect data on the FOF, symptoms of depression, anxiety and balance tests. T tests, χ2 tests, and logistic regressions were used in statistical analysis., Results: 210 subjects were enrolled. The mean age was 70.3, and 74.3% were female. Fifty-three (25.2%) reported a previous history of falls. The prevalence of FOF was 35.8% in the subjects with previous history of falls and 21.7% in subjects without previous history of falls. FOF was associated with female gender, age ≥80, living alone, impaired balance, and functional impairment but not with previous history of falls., Conclusion: FOF is associated with balance impairment, anxiety, depression, and functional impairment of daily routine activities., (© 2021 S. Karger AG, Basel.)