TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2020//
TI  - Fear of falling avoidance behavior affects the inter-relationship between vision impairment and diminished mobility in community-dwelling older adults
JO  - Physiotherapy theory and practice
A1  - Lee, Szu-Ping
A1  - Hsu, Ya-Wen
A1  - Andrew, Lauren
A1  - Davis, Talia
A1  - Johnson, Christian
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - BACKGROUND: Age-related decline in vision may contribute to the development of fear of falling (FOF) behavior and reduced mobility, which are related to increased fall risk in older adults.   PURPOSE: To investigate the inter-relationship between vision impairment, physical mobility performance, and FOF behavior in community-dwelling older adults.     METHODS: A total of 400 participants from community centers (267 females; age = 74.8 (6.4), range = 65-97 years) participated in this cross-sectional study. Presence of age-related eye diseases (e.g. macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma, and retinopathy) and visual acuity (VA) was assessed. Physical mobility and FOF avoidance behavior were assessed using the Timed Up-and-Go (TUG) test and the Fear of Falling Avoidance Behavior Questionnaire (FFABQ). The inter-relationships between parameters were analyzed using mediation model analysis.     RESULTS: Significant decreases in mobility performance were observed in those with eye disease (eye disease = 9.56 [5.2] sec, no eye disease = 8.54 [2.75] sec; p = .037) and FOF avoidance behavior (avoiders = 12.87 [6.04] sec, non-avoiders = 8.51 [3.56] sec; p < .001). Furthermore, FOF behavior was found to significantly influence the inter-relationship between presence of eye disease and TUG performance (p = .004). VA alone had no significant effect on mobility (p = .69).     CONCLUSION: The presence of eye disease and the associated FOF behavior was related to decreased mobility and potentially increased fall risk. We recommend clinicians to inquire about the presence of eye disease and FOF behavior to identify risk factors related to falls in older adults.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0959-3985
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09593985.2020.1780656
ID  - ref1
ER  -