Is there a Link between Physical, Cognitive and Fear of Falls among Elderly with Diabetes Mellitus?

Abstract

Imbalance and general weakness are amongst the most common impairments in the elderly and put them at a significantly higher risk of falling. Therefore, this study aims to compare the physical and cognitive functions towards fear of falls among 80 community-dwelling elders with and without diabetes mellitus. The results revealed that there was a decline in cognitive functions, reduced in physical function and high risk of falls among the elderly with diabetes. In conclusion, balance and resistance training need to be included in the daily exercise regime to reduce the risk of falls in the elderly, especially those with diabetes. Keywords: Cognitive; Elderly; Fear of falls; Physical eISSN 2514-7528 © 2019. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/jabs.v4i13.333