Comparison of walking performance between elderly women with and without history of falling within preceding 6 months

Abstract

Significance and background. The falls of elderly is a major health problem and has risen significantly. Falls are the leading cause of severe fetal, serious injuries, disability or even injury death. However, walking performance in Thai elderly women with and without history of falling within preceding 6 months has not been investigated. Objective. To compare walking performance between the elderly women with history of falling and with no history of falling during the preceding 6 months. Methods. The participants were 32 women aged 60 years or older. They were divided into two groups: faller (m=10) and non-faller (m=22). Their age, weight, height was recorded. Also, their walking performance was assessed by the Time Up and Go Test (TUGT). All data were compared using Unpaired t-test. Results. The followings were the findings (mean ± SD) obtained from the participants in the faller and non-faller groups - age: 67.50±6.11 years and 67.36±3.86 years respectively; BM1: 25.07±5.20 kg/mk2and 23.88±3.5 kg/m2 respectively and TUGT 9.66±2.92 seconds and 8.28± 1.56 seconds, respectively. All data were statistically non-significant O>0.05). Conclusion. No significant difference between the walking performance of elderly women with and without history of falling within preceding 6 months was found. However, there was some limitation as all participants were involved in exercise. Their physical activities may differ from general elders. The walking performance of elderly women should be studied further in various settings.