Examining the relationship between fear of falling and depression in older adults in Turkey

The specific mechanisms involved in the relationship between depression and fear of falling have not yet been fully elucidated. This study was planned to determine the possible causes of depressive symptoms in the presence of falls.

Participants' sociodemographic characteristics, including age, height, weight, body mass index, educational status, occupation, individuals living with them, disease-related characteristics, fall risk using Falls Efficacy Scale International (FES-I), and depression using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) self-report scale, were assessed.

The study included a total of 639 participants with an average age of 68.91 ± 7.85 and a body mass index of 27.38.

31.14 ± 11.93 indicated a high fear of falling, and BDI:18.70 ± 12.42 indicated mild depression. The participants' fall rate in the last year was determined to be 0.77 ± 1.43. There is a strong relationship between FES-I and BDI (r: 0.780, p < 0.001) and between FES-I and the number of falls in the last year (r: 0.748, p < 0.001). There was a significant relationship between BDI and FES-I among groups categorized by the type of people the participants lived with (respectively, F:10.617, p < 0.001; F:0.120, p:0.011). There is no significant relationship between BDI and FES-I and height among the groups (respectively: F = 0.605, p = 0.547; F = 0.080, p = 0.924).

The study found a significant relationship between fear of falling and depression in older adults, as well as the number of falls in the past year. There is a significant difference between groups in terms of fear of falling and depression levels among older adults, depending on the people they live with. Those living with their nuclear family have lower levels of depression and a reduced fear of falling than those living alone or with an extended family. Furthermore, no significant differences were found between groups regarding the likelihood of falling and depression levels in relation to the height of older adults.