Funcionalidade e força muscular estão associadas ao risco e medo de quedas em idosos

Objective: To investigate whether the level of functionality and muscle strength is associated with the risk of falling and the fear of falling in the elderly. Methods: Cross-sectional study, carried out with 80 elderly, from March to August 2019, in the municipality of Maringa, Parana, Brazil. For evaluation, the following were applied: a sociodemographic questionnaire, the WHODAS 2.0, the International Scale for the Effectiveness of Falls, the test of getting up and sitting on the chair, the forearm flexion test, in addition to the sitting test, walking of 2.44m and sit back. For data analysis, we used Pearson's correlation and multiple regression analysis (p<0.05). Results: The domains of functionality and muscle strength explain 40% of the variance of the fear of falling scores; however, only the domains of self-care (β=0.409) and ADL (β=0.379) showed a significant (p<0.05) and positive association with the fear of falls. The domains of functionality and muscle strength explain 51% of the variance of the risk scores for falling, with only the domain of interpersonal relationships (β=-0.340), the muscular strength of upper limbs (β=-0.512), and strength lower limb muscle (β=-0.192) showed a significant (p<0.05) and negative association with the risk of falls. Conclusion: It is observed that in the elderly population in question, measures of functionality and muscle strength are associated with the risk of falling and the fear of falls.