The Association between Levels of Muscle Strength and Fear of Falling in Korean Olders / 대한스포츠의학회지

ABSTRACT

This study aims to investigate the association between muscle strength and fear of falling in Korean elderly. The study used data obtained by interview and physical test, targeting a total of 339 people 65 years old and over. In order to analyze the relationship between muscle strength and fear of falling we performed a logistic regression analysis to calculate odds ratio and 95% confidence interval after adjustments body mass index, smoking status, drinking status, cohabitation status, self-rated health, self-rated sight, cardiovascular disease and cancer status, history of falls. The levels of statistically significance were set at p<0.05. Through the logistic regression analysis, we found that the male elders who has high level of upper extremity strength and lower extremity strength appeared to have a significantly lower fear of falling than those who didn't. In addition, the female who has high level of lower extremity strength appeared to have a significantly lower fear of falling than those who didn't. This research results show a correlation between level of strength and fear of falling.