Abstract :
[en] Fear of falling (FoF) is a real public health problem among elders. Indeed, this multi-determined phenomenon is highly prevalent in the elderly and leads to several negative physical and psychological consequences. Therefore, identify elders at risk of experiencing this fear is essential. By means of a two-year longitudinal study, we examined the relationships between different variables (i.e., sociodemographic, physical, psychological and cognitive variables) and FoF among 92 elders aged 65 and over. All participants were assessed twice (i.e., at the beginning and at the end of the study) with besides quarterly calls in order to report falls. We conducted univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. As expected, our multivariate model showed that a prior history of falls is a significant predictor of FoF. We also pointed out a higher tendency among women to experience FoF than among men. Furthermore, we showed, through univariate analyses, significant relationships between mood assessment and FoF. Moreover, our work attempted, in an originally way, to study the influences of subjective aging on FoF. Some results from the univariate analyses (e.g., participants with less positive attitudes towards the ageing process tend to experience more FoF) encourage researchers to carry out other studies in this direction.
