The Comparison and Relationship between Cognitive and Motor Function in Elderly with and without Falling Experience

The evaluation of cognitive and motor performance can lead to a recognition of the risk factors associated with falling. The aim of this study was to compare cognitive and motor functions in elderly with and without experience of falling. In so doing, 60 elderly with and without falling experience voluntarily participated in this study. Mini Mental examination Test, working memory capacity test, reaction time, inhibition test, Berg balance test, tandem balance test, 6-minute walking test and balance confidence test were all administered to the groups. To analyze the data thus obtained, and to examine the relationship between the variables for estimated fall, independent samples t-test and regression analysis were run. The significance level was considered as p<0.05. The results showed that elderly people with fall experience had a weaker cognitive and balance-maintenance performance than those without such experience (p<0.05). The results of correlation and regression analyses indicated that Berg balance test, tandem, inhibition and MMSE had the strongest relationship with falling. Based on these results, it can be claimed that fall in elderly is associated with poor balance as well as cognitive decline. Age is one of the predictors of falling, and about 25% of motor activities are related to cognitive capacities.