Prevalence and factors associated with functional balance in older adults

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence and identify factors associated with functional balance in older adults. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study conducted with 218 older adults aged 60 years or older registered at two Family Health Units in a municipality in the interior of Bahia. A biosociodemographic and health conditions survey, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MEEM), the Edmonton Frail Scale, Functional Scales (Barthel Index and Lawton Scale), and anthropometric measurements were used. Associations between the independent variables and the risk of falling were assessed through crude and adjusted analyses using Poisson regression with robust adjustment and expressed as prevalence ratios (RP) with their respective 95% confidence intervals (IC95%). RESULTS: The risk of falling was prevalent in 68.3% of the sample and significantly associated with frailty (adjusted RP = 0.72; IC95%: 0.60-0.86; p < 0.001), muscle strength (RP = 0.97; IC95%: 0.96-0.98; p < 0.001) and waist circumference (RP = 1.00; IC95%: 1.00-1.01; p < 0.03. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that frailty, muscle strength and waist circumference are independent predictors of the risk of falling in older adults.