Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Fear of Moving Outdoors and Development of Outdoor Walking Difficulty in Older People

Rantakokko, Merja ; Manty, Minna ; Iwarsson, Susanne LU ; Tormakangas, Timo ; Leinonen, Raija ; Heikkinen, Eino and Rantanen, Taina (2009) In Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 57(4). p.634-640
Abstract
To study which individual characteristics and environmental factors correlate with fear of moving outdoors and whether fear of moving outdoors predicts development of mobility limitation. Observational prospective cohort study and cross-sectional analyses. Community and research center. Seven hundred twenty-seven community-living people aged 75 to 81 were interviewed at baseline, of whom 314 took part in a 3.5-year follow-up. Fear of moving outdoors and its potential individual and environmental correlates were assessed at baseline. Perceived difficulties in walking 0.5 km and 2 km were assessed twice a year over a 3.5-year period. At baseline, 65% of the women and 29% of the men reported fear of moving outdoors. Poor socioeconomic status;... (More)
To study which individual characteristics and environmental factors correlate with fear of moving outdoors and whether fear of moving outdoors predicts development of mobility limitation. Observational prospective cohort study and cross-sectional analyses. Community and research center. Seven hundred twenty-seven community-living people aged 75 to 81 were interviewed at baseline, of whom 314 took part in a 3.5-year follow-up. Fear of moving outdoors and its potential individual and environmental correlates were assessed at baseline. Perceived difficulties in walking 0.5 km and 2 km were assessed twice a year over a 3.5-year period. At baseline, 65% of the women and 29% of the men reported fear of moving outdoors. Poor socioeconomic status; musculoskeletal diseases; slow walking speed; and the presence of poor street conditions, hills in the nearby environment, and noisy traffic correlated with fear of moving outdoors. At the first 6-month follow-up, participants with fear of moving outdoors had more than four times the adjusted risk (odds ratio (OR)=4.6, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.92-11.00) of developing difficulties in walking 0.5 km and a three times greater adjusted risk (OR=3.10, 95% CI=1.49-6.46) for developing difficulty in walking 2 km compared with those without fear. The difference in the prevalence of walking difficulties remained statistically significant over the 3.5-year follow-up (P=.02 and P=.009, respectively). Fear of moving outdoors is common in older adults and increases the risk of developing self-reported difficulties in walking 0.5 km and 2 km. Knowledge about individual and environmental factors underlying fear of moving outdoors and finding ways to alleviate fear of moving outdoors are important for community planning and prevention of disability. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
aging, environment, fear of moving outdoors, walking difficulty
in
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
volume
57
issue
4
pages
634 - 640
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • wos:000264883500007
  • scopus:63849269578
  • pmid:19392955
ISSN
0002-8614
DOI
10.1111/j.1532-5415.2009.02180.x
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Division of Occupational Therapy (Closed 2012) (013025000)
id
8a27025e-b706-495f-a50a-a3e7fd81e395 (old id 1400583)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 12:13:01
date last changed
2022-03-28 21:51:23
@article{8a27025e-b706-495f-a50a-a3e7fd81e395,
  abstract     = {{To study which individual characteristics and environmental factors correlate with fear of moving outdoors and whether fear of moving outdoors predicts development of mobility limitation. Observational prospective cohort study and cross-sectional analyses. Community and research center. Seven hundred twenty-seven community-living people aged 75 to 81 were interviewed at baseline, of whom 314 took part in a 3.5-year follow-up. Fear of moving outdoors and its potential individual and environmental correlates were assessed at baseline. Perceived difficulties in walking 0.5 km and 2 km were assessed twice a year over a 3.5-year period. At baseline, 65% of the women and 29% of the men reported fear of moving outdoors. Poor socioeconomic status; musculoskeletal diseases; slow walking speed; and the presence of poor street conditions, hills in the nearby environment, and noisy traffic correlated with fear of moving outdoors. At the first 6-month follow-up, participants with fear of moving outdoors had more than four times the adjusted risk (odds ratio (OR)=4.6, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.92-11.00) of developing difficulties in walking 0.5 km and a three times greater adjusted risk (OR=3.10, 95% CI=1.49-6.46) for developing difficulty in walking 2 km compared with those without fear. The difference in the prevalence of walking difficulties remained statistically significant over the 3.5-year follow-up (P=.02 and P=.009, respectively). Fear of moving outdoors is common in older adults and increases the risk of developing self-reported difficulties in walking 0.5 km and 2 km. Knowledge about individual and environmental factors underlying fear of moving outdoors and finding ways to alleviate fear of moving outdoors are important for community planning and prevention of disability.}},
  author       = {{Rantakokko, Merja and Manty, Minna and Iwarsson, Susanne and Tormakangas, Timo and Leinonen, Raija and Heikkinen, Eino and Rantanen, Taina}},
  issn         = {{0002-8614}},
  keywords     = {{aging; environment; fear of moving outdoors; walking difficulty}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{634--640}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Journal of the American Geriatrics Society}},
  title        = {{Fear of Moving Outdoors and Development of Outdoor Walking Difficulty in Older People}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2009.02180.x}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/j.1532-5415.2009.02180.x}},
  volume       = {{57}},
  year         = {{2009}},
}