Citation

Hita-Contreras F, Martínez-Amat A, Lomas-Vega R, Alvarez P, Aránega A, Martínez-López E, Mendoza N. Climacteric 2013; 16(5): 584-589.

Affiliation

Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Jaén, Jaén;

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.3109/13697137.2012.733464

PMID

23113820

Abstract

Objectives Falls are one of the leading causes of fractures and impaired quality of life in the elderly, and they are related to balance deficit and to fear of falls. The purpose of our study is to evaluate predictors of falls in the 50-65-year-old postmenopausal population. Methods A prospective cohort study was conducted on 96 postmenopausal women. Fear of falling and postural stability were assessed by using the FES-I (Falls Efficacy Scale-International) and a force platform, respectively. Fall frequency was determined in the 12-month follow-up study period. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify predictive factors of falls. Results Fear of falls, the FES-I scale and four stabilometric parameters, specifically under eyes-closed condition, were significantly higher in the group of fallers. The root mean square amplitude in the medial-lateral direction with eyes closed (RMSXec) (odds ratio 5.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.6-15.5, p = 0.004) and FES-I (odds ratio 3.4, 95% CI 1.1-10.5, p = 0.026) were the best independent predictive factors of the risk of falling. Conclusions RMSXec > 0.133 was the best predictive factor for falls in our group of 50-65-year-old postmenopausal women studied, and a FES-I score > 20 could predict falls in this population.

Language: en