How much time in sedentary behavior should be reduced to decrease fear of falling and falls in community-dwelling older adults?

Abstract

Fear of falling and history of falls are frequent situations in older adults, which can be aggravated by sedentary behavior (SB). The objective of this study was to establish SB cut-off values that discriminate falls and fear of falling in older adults and verify the association between these conditions. This was a cross-sectional study including 306 community-dwelling older adults. SB was assessed by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. The outcomes were history of falling in the last 12 months and fear of falling (higher than 23 points in the Falls Efficacy Scale International-Brazil). The cut-off points found were > 4.1 [AUC: 0.59 (95%CI: 0.53-0.65)] and > 3.9 hours/day [AUC: 0.58 (95%CI 0.52-0.64)] for fear of falling and history of falls, respectively. Older adults with SB had 1.71 (95%CI 1.03; 2.84) and 1.75 (95%CI 1.06; 2.89) greater odds of having fear of falling and suffering falls, respectively.