Relação entre dor e medo de cair em idosos institucionalizados: um estudo transversal

Abstract

Introduction: The aging process can cause health problems such as the emergence of various chronic and degenerative diseases and geriatric syndromes, significantly increasing the presence of pain in the elderly. Pain, in its various contexts, causes several limitations and can be related to the fear of falls, especially in the elderly residing in homes for aged. Objective: To analyze the relationship between pain and fear of falls among residents of homes for the aged. Methodology: A transversal survey was conducted involving 108 residents of homes for the aged in the state of Paraíba, Brazil. The instruments utilized to collect data were the Geriatric Pain Measure form (GPM), to evaluate pain, and the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I), to evaluate the concern with falls. The statistical program SPSS version 20.0 was used to analyze the data, and the t-test and Spearman’s test were used in the bivariate analysis. Also, three multiple linear regression models were applied. In all the statistical tests, the confidence interval (CI) was 95%, or p < 0.05. Results: The average age of the respondents was 78.8 (±7.19) years, with predominance of women (64.8%), and 42.1% of the respondents were single. With respect to pain, chronic pain was reported by 44.8% of the respondents, while episodes of acute pain were reported by 18.1%. In the evaluation of pain by the adjusted Geriatric Pain Measure, the average score was 28.81 (±30.67) points. The pain intensity was slight (43,6%) in the largest portion of the sample. A weak positive and significant correlation was obtained between the adjusted values of the GPM and FES-I (ρ = 0.31: p < 0.001). The multivariate analysis indicated that in the three regression models applied, the variables sex, use of psychotropic drugs and GDS score still had influence on the FES-I score. It was also observed that in the dichotomous model adjusted for pain, the report of pain implied 5.47 points on the FES-I. Conclusion: The present study identified a high prevalence of pain as well as strong concern about the fear of falling among residents of homes for the aged. When investigating the relationship between pain measures and fear of falling, a positive and significant correlation was observed between these variables.