A recent study published in the Journal of Aging and Health sought to “identify the intrinsic, psychosocial and lifestyle factors which predict the incidence of having an injurious fall or acquiring a fear of falling (FOF).” The authors conducted an 11 year longitudinal study consisting of 1000 community-dwelling older adults ages 65 and older. The authors found that the “predictors of injurious falls were increasing age, slower gait speed, and being depressed,” and that the “main predictors of developing a FOF were increasing age, cognitive impairment, reduced social activity and gender,” with women being at a greater risk. The study concludes that “injurious falls did not predict acquiring a FOF nor did FOF predict a future fall.”
