Correlação entre percepção do equilíbrio e desempenho motor em idosos comunitários: estudo transversal

Abstract

The aim of the study was to verify the correlation between balance perception (self-reported balance deficit, self-reported number of falls and self-reported concern about the risk of falls) and motor performance (mobility) of community-dwelling elderly. A cross-sectional study of an analytical character and a quantitative approach was carried out with a sample of community-dwelling elderly, who were evaluated for their sociodemographic characterization, cognitive screening through the Leganés Cognitive Test, motor performance by the Short Physical Performance Battery, concern with risk of falls using the Falls Efficacy Scale-International-Brazil, self-report of balance deficit and self-report of number of falls. Twenty-one elderly people participated in the study, most of them women with a mean age of 71 years. All individuals in the sample had good cognitive function, most denied falls in the last six months and frequency “sometimes” for memory and balance deficits. In SPPB, participants obtained scores corresponding to moderate functional capacity and in FES-I, the research subjects presented scores that indicate a relationship with a history of sporadic falls. There was a correlation between the elderly's motor performance and two measures of balance perception (fear of falling and self-reported balance deficit), and no correlation was found between motor performance and the self-reported number of falls in the last 6 months.