Factors Associated with the Risk and Fear of Falling in Older Adults with Hypertension

Aelem Cristina Apolicena Dantas; Maria Luiza Nunes Pires; Dayane Tays da Silva; Yara Lucy Fidelix; Eduardo  Quadros da Silva; Lucas França Garcia; José Roberto Andrade do Nascimento Júnior; Daniel Vicentini de Oliveira

doi:10.22235/ech.v14i2.4672

Authors

Aelem Cristina Apolicena Dantas Centro Universitário Cesumar https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9501-3431
Maria Luiza Nunes Pires Centro Universitário Cesumar https://orcid.org/0009-0003-0237-2860
Dayane Tays da Silva Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0285-7951
Yara Lucy Fidelix Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2390-0565
Eduardo Quadros da Silva Centro Universitário Cesumar https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5041-993X
Lucas França Garcia Centro Universitário Cesumar https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5815-6150
José Roberto Andrade do Nascimento Júnior Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3836-6967
Daniel Vicentini de Oliveira Universidade Estadual de Maringá https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0272-9773

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22235/ech.v14i2.4672

Keywords:

aging, hypertension, falls, fear of falling

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the association between sociodemographic and health variables and the risk and fear of falling in the presence of systemic arterial hypertension among older adults. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 110 older individuals of both sexes, users of a Medical Specialty Center in Sapezal, Mato Grosso, Brazil, including 70 hypertensive patients on antihypertensive medication and 40 non-hypertensive individuals. A sociodemographic and health questionnaire, the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, and the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I) were administered. Data were analyzed using the Chi-square test, binary logistic regression, and the Hosmer-Lemeshow test. A significance level of p < 0.05 was considered. Results: A significant difference was found when comparing proportions of hypertensive and non-hypertensive older individuals in terms of fall risk (p < 0.001) and fear of falling (p < 0.001), showing a higher proportion of individuals with fall risk and fear of falling associated with recurrent falls who are hypertensive. Additionally, older adults with a fear of falling associated with sporadic falls are 9.036 times more likely [95 % CI = 1.003-87.472] to be hypertensive compared to those with a fear of falling without associated falls. Conclusion: The findings highlight a significant association between multiple sociodemographic, health, and behavioral factors and hypertension in older adults.

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