Walking Ability Is a Major Contributor to Fear of Falling in People with Parkinson's Disease: Implications for Rehabilitation
Table 1
Sample characteristics and bivariate associations with FES(S) scores ().
Total sample
Spearman correlations with FES(S) scores
P value
Mean (SD) age, years
70 (9.1)
−0.24
0.003
Mean (SD) PD duration, years
6 (5.4)
−0.42
<0.001
Fatigue (FACIT-F), median (q1–q3)
36 (27–42)
0.67
<0.001
Physical function (PF), median (q1–q3)
65 (40–84)
0.79
<0.001
Pain (NHP), median (q1–q3)
0 (0–25)
−0.50
<0.001
Walk-12G, median (q1–q3)
13 (6–23)
−0.82
<0.001
n/total
%
Median (q1–q3) FES(S) scores
P-valuea
Dichotomous variables
No
Yes
Education: university degree
37/153
24
115 (69–130)
112 (70–130)
0.941
Living alone
38/150
25
119 (80–130)
96 (55–130)
0.125
Comorbidity
77/142
50
107 (60–130)
120 (74–130)
0.271
Motor fluctuations
90/152
58
124 (86–130)
104 (64–128)
0.010
Dyskinesia
57/153
37
124 (85–130)
93 (53–117)
<0.001
Freezing of gaitb
57/152
37
128 (112–130)
69 (47–101)
<0.001
Turning hesitationsc
58/150
38
128 (113–130)
69 (48–102)
<0.001
Experienced falls
50/149
33
123 (90–130)
81 (44–113)
<0.001
Experienced near falls
69/147
45
129 (111–130)
84 (52–115)
<0.001
Needing help from others in daily activities
42/153
27
124 (104–130)
59 (35–91)
<0.001
Sex, women
62/152
41
Women 116 (52–130)
Men 112 (77–130)
0.407
Possible score ranges: FACIT-F, 0–52 (higher = better); PF, 0–100 (higher = better); NHP-Pain, 0–100 (higher = worse); Walk-12G, 0–42 (higher = worse); FES(S), 0–130 (higher = better).
aMann Whitney U-test.
bAs assessed by item 3 (“freezing”) of the FOGQsa (Freezing of Gait Questionnaire, self-administered version). Those scoring ≥1 were categorized as freezers.
cAs assessed by item 6 (“turning hesitations”) of the FOGQsa. Those scoring ≥1 were categorized as having turning hesitations. FACIT-F: the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue scale; FES(S): the Swedish version of the Falls Efficacy Scale; NHP: the Nottingham Health Profile; PD: Parkinson’s disease; SD: standard deviation; q1–q3: first and third quartiles.
