Association of daily step counts and step intensity with fear of falling in Chinese community-dwelling older women

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between objectively measured step counts, step intensity and FOF in community-dwelling older Chinese women. Cross-sectional analyses were conducted on pooled data (n = 1101) from the baseline survey of the Physical Activity and Health Study (PAHIOWS). Step counts and step intensity were measured using wGT3X-BT accelerometers, and FOF was categorized into two levels (low and high) for logistic regression analysis. Higher step counts were significantly and negatively associated with FOF; however, after adjusting for step intensity, the association was no longer statistically significant. On the contrary, higher step intensity was negatively associated with FOF independent of step counts. This finding may provide new insights into the physical activity management of FOF in older women.(c) 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study investigated the relationship between step counts, step intensity, and fear of falling (FOF) in older Chinese women. The results showed that higher step counts were negatively associated with FOF, but this association was not significant after adjusting for step intensity. On the other hand, higher step intensity was independently and negatively associated with FOF. This finding provides new insights into the physical activity management of FOF in older women.