Correlation Between Dyspnea, Fear of Falling and Quality of Life in Geriatric Population in Nile Delta Region, Egypt

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the correlation between dyspnea, fear of falling and quality of life in geriatric population. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate dyspnea, risk of falling and quality of life in the 183 geriatrics using the Arabic version of Dyspnea-12, fall efficacy scale and short form-36 questionnaires. Results: This study was conducted in Nile delta region, Egypt with a total of 183 geriatric participants. About 41.3% of them are males, while the rest are females. Their mean age is 68.19, there is a significant correlation between aspects of the dyspnea scale, fall efficacy scale and all aspects of the SF36. There is a negative correlation between aspects of the dyspnea scale and SF 36, higher score on dyspnea scale (indicating poor functionality), is associated with lower score on the SF 36 aspects indicating lower quality of life. There is also a negative correlation between fall efficacy scale and SF 36, higher score on fall efficacy scale (indicating higher fear of falling), is associated with lower score on the SF 36 aspects denoting lower quality of life. Conclusion: In geriatric population, there is a negative correlation between dyspnea and quality of life, there is also a negative correlation between fear of falling and quality of life