Prevalence and correlates of fear of falling in Korean community-dwelling elderly subjects

Purpose: This study was conducted to investigate the factors related to fear of falling in elderly subjects, with a view to developing interventions to prevent falls. Methods: Data from 9033 elderly subjects aged >= 65 years were analyzed from the 2008 National Elderly Survey of the Korea Ministry of Health & Welfare. Results: In total, 76.6% of elderly Korean subjects had fear of falling. Factors associated with an increased risk of fear of falling in elderly subjects were, in order from highest to lowest, previous experience of falling (odds ratio [OR] = 6.41, p < 0.001), experience of body pain (OR = 2.45, p < 0.001), lower perceived health status (OR = 1.89, p < 0.001), presence of depression (OR = 1.82, p < 0.001), receipt of more doses of drugs per day for those receiving 1-2 (OR = 1.72, p < 0.001) or = 3 doses of drugs per day (OR = 1.67, p = 0.001), older age (OR = 1.68, p < 0.001), female gender (OR = 1.64, p < 0.001), dependence for instrumental activities of daily living (OR = 1.55, p < 0.001), dependence for activities of daily living (OR = 1.44, p = 0.017), and lower education level (OR = 1.18, p = 0.016). Conclusion: The fear of falling can be attenuated by providing interventions to reduce the impact of modifiable risk factors that were identified in this study. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.