A – 108 Predictors of Fear of Falling in Parkinson’s Disease

Abstract Objective Fear of falling (FoF) is commonly experienced by individuals with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and is related to decreased quality of life. Research suggests that level of depression, motor functioning, and global cognitive functioning are related to FOF in PD; however, it is unclear if they predict independent or overlapping variance in FOF. Method Sixty-nine community-dwelling adults diagnosed with idiopathic PD completed the Falls Efficacy Scale (FES), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), Modified Emory Functional Ambulation Profile (mEFAP), and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) assessing FoF, level of depression, motor functioning, and cognitive functioning, respectively. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated, and all variables that significantly correlated with FES scores were entered into a stepwise multiple regression predicting FES. Results Falls Efficacy Scale scores significantly correlated with GDS, r(67) = .43, p < .001, mEFAP, r(67) = .43, p < .001, and MMSE, r(67) = -.32, p = .004, scores. In the regression, GDS entered on the first step, R2 =.19, F(1, 67) = 15.34, p < .001, mEFAP entered on a second step, ΔR2 =.14, F(1, 66) = 13.46, p < .001, and MMSE entered on a third step, ΔR2 =.09, F(1, 65) = 9.36, p = .003. Conclusion Level of depression, motor functioning, and global cognitive functioning predicted significant independent variance in fear of falling. Fear of falling in PD appears to be multifactorial. Future research should address which specific elements of cognition are most associated with FoF.