Fear of Falling and Cognitive Impairments in Elderly People with Hip Fractures

BACKGROUND/AIM: The purpose of this study was to investigate the estimated prevalence of dementia and the relationship between cognitive impairment and fear of falling in patients with hip fractures. METHODS: Analysis 1 included 100 patients with hip fractures. Analysis 2 included a subgroup of subjects with ≥75 years of functional independence: 46 patients with hip fractures and 46 control subjects without hip fractures, and presence or absence of dementia. We used an informant-rated questionnaire including the AD8 for screening for dementia, the Barthel Index for assessing activities of daily living, and the Short Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I) for assessing fear of falling. RESULTS: The estimated prevalence of dementia was 66% in patients with hip fractures. There were significant fracture and dementia effects, with significant covariate effects of age and gender on the Short FES-I scores. CONCLUSION: Our results suggested that more than two-thirds of patients with hip fractures had dementia. Fear of falling may reflect not only physical functions but also cognitive impairments.