Associations between objectively measured pattern of physical activity, sedentary behavior and fear of falling in Chinese community-dwelling older women

This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the associations of objectively-measured physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) patterns with fear of falling (FOF) in Chinese community-dwelling older women. Data from Physical Activity and Health in Older Women Study were analyzed for 1101 older women aged 60 to 70. Variables were demographics, objectively-measured PA, SB and FOF. Logistic regressions were conducted. All SB variables, light-intensity PA variable and bouted moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA (MVPA) were not associated with FOF. Total MVPA, sporadic MVPA and steps were independently associated with FOF. Multivariable-adjusted ORs in fully-adjusted models were 0.61, 0.59; 0.73, 0.62; 0.72, 0.59 for increasing tertiles of total MVPA time, sporadic MVPA time, and steps per day, respectively. The current finding which enables encourages PA in older women group could be complemented to maximize the overall level of potential public healthcare gains especially in community dwelling older population. (C) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This cross-sectional study examined the associations of objectively-measured physical activity and sedentary behavior patterns with fear of falling in Chinese community-dwelling older women. The study found that total physical activity time, sporadic physical activity time, and daily steps were independently associated with fear of falling.