Grip strength, fall efficacy, and balance confidence as  associated factors with fall risk in middle-aged and older  adults living in the community

Marconcin, Priscila; Martinho, Estela; Serpa, Joana; Nascimento, Marcelo; Flôres, Fábio; Santos, Vanessa; Loureiro, Vânia; HONÓRIO, SAMUEL

Publication

Grip strength, fall efficacy, and balance confidence as associated factors with fall risk in middle-aged and older adults living in the community

2025Research article

datacite.subject.fos	Ciências Médicas
datacite.subject.sdg	03:Saúde de Qualidade
dc.contributor.author	Marconcin, Priscila
dc.contributor.author	Martinho, Estela
dc.contributor.author	Serpa, Joana
dc.contributor.author	Nascimento, Marcelo
dc.contributor.author	Flôres, Fábio
dc.contributor.author	Santos, Vanessa
dc.contributor.author	Loureiro, Vânia
dc.contributor.author	HONÓRIO, SAMUEL
dc.contributor.editor	Marconcin, Priscila
dc.date.accessioned	2025-07-22T10:18:37Z
dc.date.available	2025-07-22T10:18:37Z
dc.date.issued	2025
dc.description.abstract	Background: Falls are a major public health concern among older adults, often resulting in injury, functional decline, and reduced quality of life. While handgrip strength (HGS), fall efficacy, and balance confidence have individually been associated with fall risk, their com bined predictive value is still underexplored, particularly in physically active older adults. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between HGS, fall efficacy, and balance confidence and their association with fall risk in community-dwelling older adults engaged in regular exercise programs; A cross-sectional study was conducted with 280 participants aged 55 and over from community exercise programs near Lisbon, Portugal. Fall risk was assessed through self-reported falls in the past 12 months. HGS was measured with a dynamometer, fall efficacy using the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I), and balance confidence using the Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) Scale. Statistical anal yses included Spearman correlations and binary logistic regression. Results: Falls were reported by 26.4% of participants. Fall efficacy and balance confidence were significantly associated with fall history, while HGS was not. Fall efficacy was significantly associated with increased fall risk, as indicated by the odds ratio (OR = 3.37, p < 0.001), while balance confidence was negatively associated (OR = 0.95, p < 0.001). HGS was positively correlated with balance and confidence but not with fall incidence. Conclusions: Psychological factors, particularly fall efficacy and balance confidence, play a critical role in fall risk among physi cally active older adults. However, this study included physically active middle-aged and older adults living in the community, which should be considered when interpreting the generalizability of the results. These findings support the integration of simple, validated psychological assessments into fall prevention strategies in community settings.	eng
dc.identifier.citation	Marconcin,P.; São Martinho, E.; Serpa, J.; Honório, S.; Loureiro, V.; Nascimento, M.d.M.; Flôres, F.; Santos, V. Grip strength, fall efficacy, and balance confidence as associated factors with fall risk in middle-aged and older adults living in the community. Appl. Sci. 2025,15, 7617. https://doi.org/10.3390/ app15137617
dc.identifier.doi	10.3390/ app15137617
dc.identifier.issn	2076-3417
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10400.11/10242
dc.language.iso	eng
dc.peerreviewed	yes
dc.publisher	MDPI
dc.relation.hasversion	https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/13/7617
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subject	Fall risk
dc.subject	Fall efficacy
dc.subject	Balance confidence
dc.subject	Old adults
dc.title	Grip strength, fall efficacy, and balance confidence as associated factors with fall risk in middle-aged and older adults living in the community	eng
dc.type	research article
dspace.entity.type	Publication
oaire.citation.endPage	11
oaire.citation.issue	13
oaire.citation.startPage	1
oaire.citation.title	Applied Sciences
oaire.citation.volume	15
oaire.version	http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
person.familyName	HONÓRIO
person.givenName	SAMUEL
person.identifier	1450670
person.identifier.ciencia-id	A011-9441-2654
person.identifier.orcid	0000-0003-1863-344X
person.identifier.rid	N-9104-2016
person.identifier.scopus-author-id	55382546200
relation.isAuthorOfPublication	7ea045cb-d421-4d6f-9078-e058b2fd4549
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery	7ea045cb-d421-4d6f-9078-e058b2fd4549