TY - JOUR PY - 2012// TI - The association between foot problems and falls in older adults -A covariance structure analysis JO - Nippon Ronen Igakkai Zasshi A1 - Sakurai, Ryota A1 - Fujiwara, Yoshinori A1 - Fukaya, Taro A1 - Watanabe, Reiko A1 - Saito, Kyoko A1 - Yasunaga, Masashi A1 - Murayama, Yoh A1 - Yoshida, Hiroto A1 - Nishikawa, Takeshi A1 - Shinkai, Shoji A1 - Watanabe, Shuichiro SP - 468 EP - 475 VL - 49 IS - 4 N2 - Aim: To investigate the manner in which community-dwelling older adults' foot problems affect their history of falls. Methods: This study included 112 community-dwelling older adults. Foot problems (e.g., inflammation, ingrown nails, and pain while walking), self-rated physical ability (e.g., gait, tripping over, and balance), history of falls within a year, and physical ability (e.g., walking speed, Timed Up & Go test, and one leg balance test) were measured during a routine health checkup. Of these, five subjects were excluded due to incomplete all the measurement. Thus, the subjects eligible for analysis were 107 older adults (mean age±standard deviation=73.0±5.5 years). Covariance structure analysis was used to identify the inter-relationships among all measurements. Results: The covariance structure analysis showed that foot problems negatively influenced participants' self-rated physical ability, and this relationship was also linked to history of falls. The overall fit of this model was judged to be statistically satisfactory (GFI=0.959, AGFI=0.912, CFI=0.981, RMSEA=0.043). Conclusions: Our model indicated that the association between foot problems and history of falls was affected by self-rated physical ability. Furthermore, in order to prevent falls, the current results suggest that foot care could be an important intervention in older adults to prevent decline in their overall physical ability.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 0300-9173 UR - http://dx.doi.org/ ID - ref1 ER -