A new study suggests that a “positive attitude” towards aging could help recovery after suffering injuries in a fall.
The falls among older adults are a significant public health problem, which leads to the researchers of Imperial College London and the University of Coventry to investigate whether “mentalities around aging” could reduce their impact.
The study involved 694 people in England from 60 to 90 years who had not experienced a fall in the previous two years. The researchers analyzed data on falls together with the responses of the surveys that measured the beliefs and attitudes of the participants about aging.
Factors such as the rhythm for walking, activity levels and the need for assistance with daily tasks such as dressing or bathing after a fall were also evaluated.
The findings indicate that those with more positive perceptions of aging, for example, believing that aging did not hinder their ability to do what they wanted, used to recover better after a fall.
“We discovered that older people who had more positive self -perceptions of aging at the beginning were better protected against negative physical consequences after a fall,” they wrote in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
People who had the highest possible score in the “self -perceptions of aging” measurements, or who had the most positive mentality about aging, had 162% lower likely to show a slow walking speed, 200% lower to be dependent on others to perform daily life activities and had 123% less likely that they were inactive after a fall, compared to those that were not positive About the aging.
The co-leader of the study, Dr. Toby Ellmers, of the Department of Cerebro Sciences of Imperial College London, said: “Those who expressed more positive feelings about their own aging seemed to be protected against the worst physical consequences after a fall.
“There was a substantial difference in the physical recovery rate in the people we study, and this seemed to be linked to their initial beliefs about aging.
“Our results suggest that changing the way in which some older people see their aging process could play a key role in improving recovery and well -being.
“It is even possible that simple 'adjustments' to help people develop a more positive mentality around aging, such as having conversations with a friend or relative about the positive aspects associated with aging, could help.
“This is something that we are very interested in exploring in future research.”
The study of the study, Dr. Mathew Hill, of the Coventry University Research Center for physical activity, sports and exercise, added: “We knew by previous research that mentalities and negative beliefs about aging are associated with a greater risk of negative health results, such as stroke and mortality, this is the first research that specifically links physical recovery after a fall.”
