The influence of obesity on falls and quality of life

Abstract

Objective: To determine (1) whether obese older adults had higher prevalence of falls and ambulatory stumbling, impaired balance and lower health-related quality of life (HRQL) than their normal weight counterparts, and (2) whether the falls and balance measures were associated with HRQL in obese adults. Methods:Subjects who had a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30 kg/m 2 were classified into an obese group (n = 128) while those with BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 kg/m 2 were included into a normal weight group (n = 88). Functional tests were performed to assess balance, and questionnaires were administered to assess history of falls, ambulatory stumbling, and HRQL. Results:The obese group reported a higher prevalence of falls (27% vs. 15%), and ambulatory stumbling (32% vs. 14%) than the normal weight group. Furthermore, the obese group had lower HRQL, (p ≤ 0.05) for physical function (63 ± 27 vs. 75 ± 26; mean ± SD), role-physical (59 ± 40 vs. 74 ± 37), vitality (58 ± 23 vs. 66 ± 20), bodily pain (62 ± 25 vs. 74 ± 21) and general health (64 ± 19 vs. 70 ± 18). In the obese group, a history of falls was related (p ≤ 0.05) to lower scores in 4 domains of HRQL, and ambulatory stumbling was related (p ≤ 0.01) to 7 domains. Conclusion:In middle-aged and older adults, obesity was associated with a higher prevalence of falls and stumbling during ambulation, as well as lower values in multiple domains of HRQL. Furthermore, a history of falls and ambulatory stumbling were related to lower measures of HRQL in obese adults.

Falls and health-related quality of life (SF-36) in elderly people—ISACAMP 2008

“…Results of a previously mentioned study, involving the population of obese adults in Oklahoma (USA), also indicated the lowest scores of the SF-36 in physical and social aspects, pain and functional capacity in individuals with a history of falls [15]. Another study conducted in Brazil with 120 elderly subjects, using the WHOQOL, also found that the presence of falls in the past six months was associated with the worst condition in the physical domain assessed by the instrument [21].…”

“…A few of them use data from institutionalized subjects or specific to a group. In Oklahoma (USA), researchers studied the impact of falls in obese adults and found the lowest scores of the SF-36 in social aspects, pain, functional capacity and physical aspects for those individuals with reported recurrent falls in the past year [15]. Another study carried out in Canada, which evaluated the impact of falls through the SF-36 in elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), has found that those who had experienced one or more falls in the previous year had lower scores in all domains of the instrument [16].…”

The impact of obesity on balance control in community-dwelling older women

“…The onelegged balance test is a timed trial of standing on one leg with eyes open (Hurvitz et al 2000;Bohannon et al 1984) and frequently used in older individuals (Michikawa et al 2009) even if a recent systematic review and meta-analysis reported a moderate success at identifying fallers in older individuals with this clinical test (Muir et al 2010). However, the obese individuals had a higher prevalence of falling and ambulatory stumbling, as well as lower quality of life in multiple health domains than the normal weight counterparts (Fjeldstad et al 2008). Also, situations that are cognitively challenging might place additional demands on maintaining balance to reduce the risk of fall, and this has been shown to be additionally detrimental for balance control in obese persons (Mignardot et al 2010).…”

Association between Physical Functioning and Fear of Falling with Balance in Elderly Diabetic Individuals

“…Study of Cecilie et al on "The influence of obesity on falls and quality of life" concluded that there was higher prevalence of falls and ambulatory stumbling in obese individual as compared to normal group. Also in middle aged and older men and women due to these higher prevalence there was a low score in multiple domains of health related quality of life [8].…”

“…Obese individuals are typically sedentary as there is an inverse relationship between BMI and activity levels. Obesity is an important factor related to falls in the elderly, as it negatively impacts balance and postural sway, thereby increasing the risk of functional limitations that lead to falling [8].…”