We sought to explore the relationship between two subjective falls-risk assessment tools (Falls Efficacy Scale–International [FES-I] and Activities-Specific Balance Confidence [ABC] Scale) and functional, health-related, and body composition characteristics. A total of 245 community-dwelling people aged 60 to 88 years underwent assessments for subjective falls risk (using the FES-I and ABC Scale), health-related (cognitive; Short-Form Health Survey [SF-12]), functional (physical activity and physical function), and body composition characteristics (measured by dual X-ray absorptiometry). The FES-I and ABC Scale are strongly correlated with each other for females and males (r = −.70, p < .001; r = −.65, p < .001), respectively. There are substantial differences between males and females when they self-assess their risk of falling as well as what characteristics contribute to explaining these self-assessments. Females are potentially more self-aware of their functional, body composition and health-related characteristics to better estimate their own risk of falling. FES-I correlates better with functional, body composition, and health-related characteristics, and thus may be more appropriate for use than the ABC in community-dwelling older adults.
ArfkenC. L.LachH. W.BirgeS. J.MillerJ. P. (1994). The prevalence and correlates of fear of falling in elderly persons living in the community. American Journal of Public Health, 84, 565-570.
2.
BaumgartnerR. N.KoehlerK. M.GallagherD.RomeroL.HeymsfieldS. B.RossR. R.. . . LindemanR. D. (1998). Epidemiology of sarcopenia among the elderly in New Mexico. American Journal of Epidemiology, 147, 755-763.
3.
BoydR.StevensJ. A. (2009). Falls and fear of falling: Burden, beliefs and behaviours. Age & Ageing, 38, 423-428.
4.
BrookeP.BullockR. (1999). Validation of a 6 Item Cognitive Impairment Test with a view to primary care usage. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 14, 936-940.
5.
CameronA. J.WelbornT. A.ZimmetP. Z.DunstanD. W.OwenN.SalmonJ.. . . ShawJ. E. (2003). Overweight and obesity in Australia: The 1999-2000 Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab). Medical Journal of Australia, 178, 427-432.
6.
Centre for Health Advancement and Centre for Epidemiology and Research. (2010). New South Wales Falls Prevention Baseline Survey: 2009 Report. Sydney, Australia: NSW Department of Health.
7.
ChangS.-H.BeasonT. S.HunlethJ. M.ColditzG. A. (2012). A systematic review of body fat distribution and mortality in older people. Maturitas, 72, 175-191.
8.
CohenJ. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. New York, NY: Routledge.
9.
DelbaereK.CloseJ. C.BrodatyH.SachdevP.LordS. R. (2010). Determinants of disparities between perceived and physiological risk of falling among elderly people: Cohort study. British Medical Journal, 341, Article c4165.
10.
DipietroL.CaspersenC. J.OstfeldA. M.NadelE. R. (1993). A survey for assessing physical activity among older adults. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 25, 628-642.
11.
EvansW. J. (2010). Skeletal muscle loss: Cachexia, sarcopenia, and inactivity. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 91, 1123S-1127S.
12.
GoodpasterB. H.ParkS. W.HarrisT. B.KritchevskyS. B.NevittM.SchwartzA. V.. . . NewmanA. B. (2006). The loss of skeletal muscle strength, mass, and quality in older adults: The health, aging and body composition study. The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences & Medical Sciences, 61, 1059-1064.
13.
GuralnikJ. M.SimonsickE. M.FerrucciL.GlynnR. J.BerkmanL. F.BlazerD. G.. . . WallaceR. B. (1994). A short physical performance battery assessing lower extremity function: Association with self-reported disability and prediction of mortality and nursing home admission. Journal of Gerontology, 49, M85-M94.
HotchkissA.FisherA.RobertsonR.RuttencutterA.SchuffertJ.BarkerD. B. (2004). Convergent and predictive validity of three scales related to falls in the elderly. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 58(1), 100-103.
16.
HowlandJ.LachmanM. E.PetersonE. W.CoteJ.KastenL.JetteA. (1998). Covariates of fear of falling and associated activity curtailment. The Gerontologist, 38, 549-555.
17.
HowlandJ.PetersonE. W.LevinW. C.FriedL.PordonD.BakS. (1993). Fear of falling among the community-dwelling elderly. Journal of Aging and Health, 5, 229-243.
18.
HughesV. A.FronteraW. R.WoodM.EvansW. J.DallalG. E.RoubenoffR.SinghM. A. F. (2001). Longitudinal muscle strength changes in older adults influence of muscle mass, physical activity, and health. The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences & Medical Sciences, 56, B209-B217.
19.
LachH. W. (2005). Incidence and risk factors for developing fear of falling in older adults. Public Health Nursing, 22, 45-52.
20.
LachmanM. E.HowlandJ.TennstedtS.JetteA.AssmannS.PetersonE. W. (1998). Fear of falling and activity restriction: The Survey of Activities and Fear of Falling in the Elderly (SAFE). The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences & Social Sciences, 53, P43-P50.
21.
LaRocheD. P.KnightC. A.DickieJ. L.LussierM.RoyS. J. (2007). Explosive force and fractionated reaction time in elderly low- and high-active women. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 39, 1659-1665.
22.
MakiB. E.HollidayP. J.TopperA. K. (1991). Fear of falling and postural performance in the elderly. Journal of Gerontology, 46, M123-M131.
23.
MilanovićZ.PantelićS.TrajkovićN.SporišGKostićR.JamesN. (2013). Age-related decrease in physical activity and functional fitness among elderly men and women. Clinical Interventions in Aging, 8, 549.
24.
MirelmanA.HermanT.BrozgolM.DorfmanM.SprecherE.SchweigerA.. . . HausdorffJ. M. (2012). Executive function and falls in older adults: New findings from a five-year prospective study link fall risk to cognition. PLoS ONE, 7(6), Article e40297.
25.
NevittM. C.CummingsS. R.HudesE. S. (1991). Risk factors for injurious falls: A prospective study. Journal of Gerontology, 46, M164-M170.
26.
NguyenN. D.PongchaiyakulC.CenterJ. R.EismanJ. A.NguyenT. V. (2005). Abdominal fat and hip fracture risk in the elderly: The Dubbo Osteoporosis Epidemiology Study. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 6(1), 11-16.
27.
OgdenC. L.CarrollM. D.KitB. K.FlegalK. M. (2012). Prevalence of obesity in the United States, 2009-2010: NCHS data brief, no 82. Hyattsville, MD: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health.
28.
PowellL. E.MyersA. M. (1995). The Activities-Specific Balance Confidence (ABC) Scale. The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences & Medical Sciences, 50, M28-M34.
29.
RubensteinL. Z. (2006). Falls in older people: Epidemiology, risk factors and strategies for prevention. Age and Ageing, 35(Suppl. 2), ii37-ii41.
30.
ScottV.VotovaK.ScanlanA.CloseJ. (2007). Multifactorial and functional mobility assessment tools for fall risk among older adults in community, home-support, long-term and acute care settings. Age and Ageing, 36, 130-139.
31.
SmeeD. J.AnsonJ. M.WaddingtonG. S.BerryH. L. (2012). Association between physical functionality and falls risk in community-living older adults. Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research, 2012, Article 864516.
32.
StevensJ. A.BallesterosM. F.MackK. A.RuddR. A.DeCaroE.AdlerG. (2012). Gender differences in seeking care for falls in the aged Medicare population. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 43, 59-62.
TinettiM. E.de LeonC. F. M.DoucetteJ. T.BakerD. I. (1994). Fear of falling and fall-related efficacy in relationship to functioning among community-living elders. Journal of Gerontology, 49, M140-M147.
35.
TinettiM. E.SpeechleyM.GinsterS. F. (1988). Risk factors for falls among elderly persons living in the community. New England Journal of Medicine, 319, 1701-1707.
36.
TinettiM. E.WilliamsC. S. (1998). The effect of falls and fall injuries on functioning in community-dwelling older persons. The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences & Medical Sciences, 53, M112-M119.
37.
ToddC.SkeltonD.OrganizationW. H. (2004). What are the main risk factors for falls amongst older people and what are the most effective interventions to prevent these falls?Europe: World Health Organization.
38.
TsengL. A.DelmonicoM. J.VisserM.BoudreauR. M.GoodpasterB. H.SchwartzA. V.. . . NewmanA. B. (2014). Body composition explains sex differential in physical performance among older adults. The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences & Medical Sciences, 69, 93-100.
39.
VerschuerenS.GielenE.O’NeillT.PyeS.AdamsJ.WardK.. . . ClaessensF. (2013). Sarcopenia and its relationship with bone mineral density in middle-aged and elderly European men. Osteoporosis International, 24, 87-98.
40.
WagnerE. H.LaCroixA. Z.BuchnerD. M.LarsonE. B. (1992). Effects of physical activity on health status in older adults I: Observational studies. Annual Review of Public Health, 13, 451-468.
41.
WareJ. E.Jr.KosinskiM.KellerS. D. (1996). A 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey: Construction of scales and preliminary tests of reliability and validity. Medical Care, 34, 220-233.
42.
WashburnR. A.McAuleyE.KatulaJ.MihalkoS. L.BoileauR. A. (1999). The physical activity scale for the elderly (PASE): Evidence for validity. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 52, 643-651.
43.
WashburnR. A.SmithK. W.JetteA. M.JanneyC. A. (1993). The Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE): Development and evaluation. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 46, 153-162.
44.
YardleyL.BeyerN.HauerK.KempenG.Piot-ZieglerC.ToddC. (2005). Development and initial validation of the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I). Age and Ageing, 34, 614-619.
