Are multimorbidity patterns associated with fear of falling in community-dwelling older adults?

Multimorbidity is defined as the co-occurrence of multiple chronic or acute diseases and medical conditions in the same individual and can be grouped into different patterns based on the type of disease. These patterns are associated with poorer quality of life and premature death. It is believed that these patterns entail functional limitations, which may contribute to the fear of falling; however, this association remains unknown. Identifying this possible association is fundamental for developing individual and collective care approaches aimed at preventing the different patterns of chronic diseases in older adults in order to decrease the fear of falling. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between multimorbidity patterns and fear of falling in older adults.

This was a cross-sectional study including 308 older adults. The exposure variables were the presence of three multimorbidity patterns (cardiopulmonary, musculoskeletal, and vascular-metabolic) and pattern association assessed by self-report of two or more similar coexisting chronic diseases. The outcome was fear of falling assessed by the Brazilian version of Falls Efficacy Scale-International (cut-off point ≥ 23 points). Multivariable logistic regression was used to analyze the association between variables.

Older adults with cardiopulmonary, musculoskeletal, vascular-metabolic patterns and pattern association had 3.49 (95%CI 1.13; 10.78), 2.03 (95%CI 1.13; 3.64), 2.14 (95%CI 1.20; 3.82), and 4.84 (95%CI 2.19; 10.68), respectively, greater chances of presenting fear of falling when compared to older adults without the patterns.

The presence of multimorbidity patterns is associated with higher chances of reporting fear of falling. It is emphasized that the introduction of public health programs aimed at preventing multimorbidity patterns is essential to reduce possible adverse health outcomes, including fear of falling and its negative consequences for older adult health.