Journal List > J Korean Acad Nurs > v.38(5) > 1002484

Park and Park: The Mediating Effect of Depression in the Relationship between Muscle Strength of Extremities and Falls among Community-Dwelling Elderly

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to identify the mediating effect of depression in the relationship between muscle strength of extremities and falls among community-dwelling elderly.

Methods

Two hundred forty-seven participants were recruited from a public health center, a hall for the aged and a school for the aged in B city. Face-to-face interviews were conducted using questionnaires from May to September of 2007. Data was analyzed with descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression using the SPSS WIN 14.0 program.

Results

There was a significantly negative relationship between muscle strength of lower extremities and falls, muscle strength of left upper extremity and falls, and muscle strength of right upper extremity and falls. Depression positively correlated with falls. Depression showed mediating effects between muscle strength of extremities and falls. Weakness of muscle strength of extremities increased depression and the increased depression increased the frequencies of falls.

Conclusion

For the effective management and prevention of community-dwelling older adults’ falls, exercise programs including depression-decreasing strategies should be established. These exercise programs can decrease depression which is the mediator role between the degrees of muscle strength of extremities and falls.

References

Arfken C. L.., Lach H. W.., Birge S. J.., Miller J.P. 1994. The prevalence and correlates of fear of falling in elderly persons living in the community. American Journal of Public Health. 84:565–570.
crossref
Biderman A.., Cwikel J.., Fried A. V.., Galinsky, D. 2002. Depression and falls among community dwelling elderly people: A search for common risk factors. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 56:631–636.
crossref
Chang C. M.., Kang H.S. 2004. Physical function and physiological status in the elderly those who experienced a fall or not. Korean Journal of Rehabilitation Nursing. 7:48–57.
Chu L. W.., Chi I.., Chiu A.Y. 2005. Incidence and predictors of falls in the Chinese elderly. Annals of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore. 34:60–72.
Evans G. W.., Lepore S.J. 1997. Moderating and mediating processes in environment behavior research. Moore G.T., Marans R.W., editorsAdvances in environment, behavior, and design. 4. New York, NY: Plenum.
Ga mann, K. G., Rupprecht, R., Freiberger, E., & for the IZG Study Group. 2008. Predictors for occasional and recurrent falls in . community-dwelling older people. Zeitschrift fur Gerontologie und . Geriatrie: Organ der Deutschen Gesellschaft fur Gerontologie und Geriatrie. 41:1–8.
Gerety M. B.., Williams J. Jr.., Mulrow C. D.., Cornell J. E.., Kadri A. A.., Rosenberg J., et al1994. Performance of case-finding tools for depression in the nursing home: Influence of clinical and functional characteristics and selection of optimal threshold scores. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 42:1103–1109.
crossref
Gu M. O.., Jeon M. Y.., Eun, Y. 2006. The development and effect of an tailed falls prevention exercise for older adults. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing. 36:341–352.
Gu M. O.., Jeon M. Y.., Kim H. J.., Eun, Y. 2005. A review of exercise interventions for fall prevention in the elderly. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing. 35:1101–1112.
crossref
Hybels C. F.., Blazer D.G. 2003. Epidemiology of late-life men-taldisorders. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine. 19:663–696.
Jeon M. Y.., Jeong H. C.., Choe M.A. 2001. A study on the elderly patients hospitalized by the fracture from the fall. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing. 31:443–453.
crossref
Kannus P.., Sievanen H.., Palvanen M.., Jarvinen T.., Parkkari, J. 2005. Prevention of falls and consequent injuries in elderly people. Lancet. 26:1885–1893.
crossref
Kim H.S. 2001. Senior fitness test manual. Seoul: Daehan Media.
Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2005. Injury surveillance monthly report. 1:1–5. Retrieved July 9, 2008, from. http://www.cdc.go.kr/kcdchome.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLa-bel=HPPUNI130&rootmenuid=20010&targetmenuid=20202&boardid=170&boardtype=BRDTYPE01&rootcmsid=&con-tentid=.
Lee H. J.., Park K. Y.., Park H.S. 2005. Self care activity, metabolic control, and cardiovascular risk factors in accordance with the levels of depression of clients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing. 35:283–291.
crossref
MacRae P. G.., Feltner M. E.., Reinsch, S. 1994. A 1-year exercise program for older women: Effects on falls, injuries, and physical performance. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity. 2:127–142.
crossref
Min H.S. 1999. The Effects of personal characteristics and metamem-ory on the old adults’ memory performance. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Seoul National University;Seoul:
Park E. Y.., Lee J.H. 2005. The effect of complex exercise program for prevention of falls on fitness in elderly. Exercise Science. 14:181–192.
Park S.W. 1997. Effect of reminiscence therapy on depression for elder-lypatient. Unpublished master’s thesis. Yonsei University;Seoul:
Robinson-Smith G.., Johnston M. V.., Allen, J. 2000. Self care, self-efficacy, quality of life, and depression after stroke. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 81:460–464.
Rubenstein L. Z.., Josephson K.R. 2002. The epidemiology of falls and syncope. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine. 18:141–158.
crossref
Schoenfelder D.P. 2000. A fall prevention for elderly individuals-Exercise in long term care settings. Journal of Gerontological Nursing. 26:43–51.
Sheikh J. I.., Yesavage J.A. 1986. Geriatric depression scale (GDS): Recent evidence and development of a shorter version. Clinical Gerontologist. 5:165–173.
Shin K. R.., Kang Y.., Jung D.., Choi K.A. 2007. A studyon the depression, somatic symptom, activities of daily living forthe elder-lywomen in an urban area. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing. 37:1131–1138.
Stalenhoef P. A.., Diederiks J. P.., Knottnerus J. A.., Kester A. D.., Crebolder H.F. 2002. A risk model for the prediction of recurrent falls in community-dwelling elderly: A prospective cohort study. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 55:1088–1094.
Stel V. S.., Smit J. H.., Pluijm S. M.., Lips, P. 2004. Consequences of falling in older men and women and risk factors for health ser-viceuse and functional decline. Age Ageing. 33:58–65.
Tabachnick B. G.., Fidell L.S. 2001. Using multivariate statistics. 4th ed.Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Tinetti M. E.., Speechley M.., Ginter S.F. 1988. Risk factors for falls among elderly persons living in the community. The New England Journal of Medicine. 319:1701–1707.
crossref
Whooley M. A.., Kip K. E.., Cauley J. A.., Ensrud K. E.., Nevitt M. C.., Browner W.S. 1999. Depression, falls, and risk of fracture in older women. Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Research Group. Archives of Internal Medicine. 159:484–490.

Figure 1.
Mediating effect of depression in the relationship between muscle strength of extremities and falls.
jkan-38-730f1.tif
Table 1.
General Characteristics of Participants (N=247)
Characteristics n %
Gender
 Male 38 15.4
 Female 209 84.6
Age (yr)
 65-69 16 6.5
 70-79 138 55.8
 80 or more 93 37.7
 Mean±SD 77.9±5.4
Education
 None 133 53.9
 Elementary school 65 26.3
 Middle school or higher 49 19.8
Spouse
 Yes 58 23.5
 No 189 76.5
Living arrangement
 Children offspring 117 47.4
 Spouse 43 17.4
 Solitude 86 34.8
 Others 1 0.4
Perceived economic status
 High 6 2.4
 Middle 120 48.6
 Low 121 49.0
Perceived health status
 Good 47 19.0
 Moderate 81 32.8
 Poor 119 48.2
Regular exercise
 Yes 119 48.2
 No 128 51.8
Pre-existing chronic disease
 Yes 168 68.0
 No 79 32.0
Table 2.
Descriptive Statistics of Research Variables (N=247
Variables Mean SD Actual range Reference range
M. strength of lower ext. (Frequency) 12.67 4.46 0-28
 Male 14.45 4.22 4-26 8-18
 Female 12.35 4.43 0-28 8-16
M. strength of upper ext. (Hand grip)
 Left hand (kg) 14.89 5.66 0-35
  Male 21.91 6.58 0-35 30-40
  Female 13.61 4.42 0-24 17-24
 Right hand (kg) 15.20 5.50 0-36
  Male 21.94 6.21 0-36 30-40
  Female 13.98 4.36 0-33 17-24
Depression 7.30 3.82 0-15 0-5
Falls
 Frequency 0.68 1.13 0-4
n %
Yes 84 34.01
 1 38 45.24
 2 20 23.81
 3 15 17.86
 4 or more 11 13.10
No 163 65.99

M.=Muscle; Ext.=Extremities.

Table 3.
Correlations among Study Variables (N=247)
M. strength. of lower ext. r (p) M. strength of left upper ext. r (p) M. strength of right upper ext. r (p) Depression r (p) Falls r (p)
M. strength of lower ext.
M. strength of left upper ext. .412 (<.001)
M. strength of right upper ext. .444 (<.001) .781 (<.001)
Depression -.254 (<.001) -.300 (<.001) -.298 (<.001)
Falls -.140 (.028) -.170 (.007) -.177 (.005) .264 (<.001)

M.=Muscle; Ext.=Extremities.

Table 4.
Mediating Effects of Depression in the Relationship between Muscle Strength of Extremities and Falls (N=247)
Predictors F β R2 Additional R2 Mediating effect
Muscle strength of lower extremity (MSLE)
 Equation 1. MSLE → depression 16.877*** -.254*** .064 -
 Equation 2. MSLE → falls 4.914* -.140* .020 -
 Equation 3. Depression → falls 9.941*** .244*** .075 -
      MSLE → falls -.078 .006 Yes
Muscle strength of left upper extremity (MSLUE)
 Equation 1. MSLUE → depression 24.161*** -.300*** .090 -
 Equation 2. MSLUE → falls 7.294** -.170** .029 -
 Equation 3. Depression → falls 10.422*** .234*** .079 -
      MSLUE → falls -.100 .009 Yes
Muscle strength of right upper extremity (MSRUE)
 Equation 1. MSRUE → depression 23.800*** -.298*** .089 -
 Equation 2. MSRUE → falls 7.966** -.177** .031 -
 Equation 3. Depression → falls 10.659*** .232*** .080 -
      MSRUE → falls -.109 .011 Yes

* p<.05

** p<.01

*** p<.001.

Equation 1. IV → mediator to check beta and R2; Equation 2. IV → DV to check beta and R2 (it should be significant to test mediator effect); Equation 3. Step 1: mediator → DV to check beta and R2; Step 2: IV → DV to check beta and R2.

TOOLS
Similar articles