scholarly journals Evaluation of the Utility of the ‘Velocity Field Diagram’ and ‘Timed-Up-and-Go Test‘ as Fall Screening Tools Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: An Observational Study

Author(s):  
Sam Chidi Ibeneme ◽  
Joy Eze ◽  
Uchenna Prosper Okonkwo ◽  
Goergian Chiaka Ibeneme ◽  
Gerhard Fortwengel

Abstract Background: Evidence from systematic reviews demonstrated that gait variables are the most reliable predictors of future falls, yet are rarely included in fall screening tools. It explains why most tools have higher specificity than sensitivity, hence may be misleading/detrimental to care. The diagnostic utility of a gait analytical tool-velocity field diagram (VFD), and “Timed-up-and-go test (TUG)’- commonly used in Nigeria, was therefore compared to a gold standard (known fallers) to evaluate their accuracy and utility in fall screening. Method: This is an observational study of 500 older adults (280 fallers and 220 non-fallers), recruited by convenience sampling technique at a community health forum on fall prevention. The number of steps and time they spent to complete a-7metre distance was determined and used to calculate the stride length, stride frequency, and velocity, which regression lines were used to form the VFD. TUG test was simultaneously conducted to discriminate fallers from non-fallers. The cut-off points for falls: TUG times ≥13.5 seconds; and VFD’s intersection point of the stride frequency, and velocity regression lines (E1) ≥3.5velots. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) area under the curves (AUC) was used to explore the ability of the E1≥3.5velots to discriminate between fallers and non-fallers. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of the VFD and TUG were determined. Alpha was set at p<0.05. Results: The sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of the VFD versus TUG is 71%, 27%, 72%, and 43%, versus 39%, 59%, 40%, and 43%, respectively. The ROC’s AUC were 0.74(95%CI:0.597,0.882, p=0.001) for the VFD. The optimal categorizations for discrimination between fallers/non-fallers were ≥3.78 versus ≤3.78 for VFD (fallers and non-fallers prevalence 60.71% versus 95.45%, respectively), with an accuracy of 0.76 unlike TUG with AUC=0.53 (95% CI:0.353, 0.700, p=0.762), and an accuracy of 0.68, and optimal characterization of ≥12.81s versus ≤12.81 (fallers and non-fallers prevalence = 92.86% versus 36.36%, respectively). Conclusion: The VFD demonstrated a fair discriminatory power and greater accuracy in identifying fallers than the TUG. Therefore, the VFD could serve as a primary tool in screening those at the risk of fall than the TUG.

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raphaela Xavier Sampaio ◽  
Amanda Maria Santos Abreu ◽  
Cristiane Almeida Nagata ◽  
Patrícia Azevedo Garcia

Abstract Introduction: The identification of older adults who present greater chances of falling is the first step in the prevention of falls. Clinical instruments have been shown to be able to differentiate fallers from non-fallers, but their predictive validity remains controversial. Objective: To investigate the accuracy of the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) and Quick Screen Clinical Fall Risk Assessment (QuickScreen) instruments to identify risk of falls in community-dwelling older adults. Method: This is a prospective methodological study with 81 older adults (≥ 60 years), assessed at baseline by SPPB and QuickScreen and monitored after one year to identify the occurrence of falls. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and area under the ROC curve (AUC) were calculated. Results: 28.4% of the sample reported falls. QuickScreen presented 52.2% sensitivity, 74.1% specificity, 44.4% PPV, 79.6% NPV and 0.656 AUC. The AUC for SPPB was not significant (p = 0.087). Conclusion: QuickScreen presented poor accuracy when predicting falls and SPPB was unable to identify community-dwelling older adults at risk of falls. The QuickScreen instrument stood out for its high potential to identify true negatives.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 407
Author(s):  
Laetitia Lengelé ◽  
Olivier Bruyère ◽  
Charlotte Beaudart ◽  
Jean-Yves Reginster ◽  
Médéa Locquet

This study aimed to assess the impact of malnutrition on the 5-year evolution of physical performance, muscle mass and muscle strength in participants from the SarcoPhAge cohort, consisting of community-dwelling older adults. The malnutrition status was assessed at baseline (T0) according to the “Global Leadership Initiatives on Malnutrition” (GLIM) criteria, and the muscle parameters were evaluated both at T0 and after five years of follow-up (T5). Lean mass, muscle strength and physical performance were assessed using dual X-ray absorptiometry, handgrip dynamometry, the short physical performance battery test and the timed up and go test, respectively. Differences in muscle outcomes according to nutritional status were tested using Student’s t-test. The association between malnutrition and the relative 5-year change in the muscle parameters was tested using multiple linear regressions adjusted for several covariates. A total of 411 participants (mean age of 72.3 ± 6.1 years, 56% women) were included. Of them, 96 individuals (23%) were diagnosed with malnutrition at baseline. Their muscle parameters were significantly lower than those of the well-nourished patients both at baseline and after five years of follow-up (all p-values < 0.05), except for muscle strength in women at T5, which was not significantly lower in the presence of malnutrition. However, the 5-year changes in muscle parameters of malnourished individuals were not significantly different than those of well-nourished individuals (all p-values > 0.05).


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1061
Author(s):  
Roma Krzymińska-Siemaszko ◽  
Ewa Deskur-Śmielecka ◽  
Arkadiusz Styszyński ◽  
Katarzyna Wieczorowska-Tobis

A simple, short, cheap, and reasonably sensitive and specific screening tool assessing both nutritional and non-nutritional risk factors for sarcopenia is needed. Potentially, such a tool may be the Mini Sarcopenia Risk Assessment (MSRA) Questionnaire, which is available in a seven-item (MSRA-7) and five-item (MSRA-5) version. The study’s aim was Polish translation and validation of both MSRA versions in 160 volunteers aged ≥60 years. MSRA was validated against the six sets of international diagnostic criteria for sarcopenia used as the reference standards. PL-MSRA-7 and PL-MSRA-5 both had high sensitivity (≥84.9%), regardless of the reference standard. The PL-MSRA-5 had better specificity (44.7–47.2%) than the PL-MSRA-7 (33.1–34.7%). Both questionnaires had similarly low positive predictive value (PL-MSRA-5: 17.9–29.5%; PL-MSRA-7: 14.4–25.2%). The negative predictive value was generally high for both questionnaires (PL-MSRA-7: 89.8–95.9%; PL-MSRA-5: 92.3–98.5%). PL-MSRA-5 had higher accuracy than the PL-MSRA-7 (50.0–55% vs. 39.4–45%, respectively). Based on the results, the Mini Sarcopenia Risk Assessment questionnaire was successfully adopted to the Polish language and validated in community-dwelling older adults from Poland. When compared with PL-MSRA-7, PL-MSRA-5 is a better tool for sarcopenia risk assessment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 811-811
Author(s):  
Jennifer Deal ◽  
Nicholas Reed ◽  
David Couper ◽  
Kathleen Hayden ◽  
Thomas Mosley ◽  
...  

Abstract Hearing impairment in older adults is linked to accelerated cognitive decline and a 94% increased risk of incident dementia in population-based observational studies. Whether hearing treatment can delay cognitive decline is unknown but could have substantial clinical and public health impact. The NIH-funded ACHIEVE randomized controlled trial of 977 older adults aged 70-84 years with untreated mild-to-moderate hearing loss, is testing the efficacy of hearing treatment versus health education on cognitive decline over 3 years in community-dwelling older adults (Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT03243422.) This presentation will describe lessons learned from ACHIEVE’s unique study design. ACHIEVE is nested within a large, well-characterized multicenter observational study, the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. Such nesting within an observational study maximizes both operational and scientific efficiency. With trial results expected in 2022, this presentation will focus on the benefits gained in design and recruitment/retention, including dedicated study staff, well-established protocols, and established study staff-participant relationships. Part of a symposium sponsored by Sensory Health Interest Group.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Hide ◽  
Y. Ito ◽  
N. Kuroda ◽  
M. Kanda ◽  
W. Teramoto

AbstractThis study investigates how the multisensory integration in body perception changes with increasing age, and whether it is associated with older adults’ risk of falling. For this, the rubber hand illusion (RHI) and rubber foot illusion (RFI) were used. Twenty-eight community-dwelling older adults and 25 university students were recruited. They viewed a rubber hand or foot that was stimulated in synchrony or asynchrony with their own hidden hand or foot. The illusion was assessed by using a questionnaire, and measuring the proprioceptive drift and latency. The Timed Up and Go Test was used to classify the older adults into lower and higher fall-risk groups. No difference was observed in the RHI between the younger and older adults. However, several differences were observed in the RFI. Specifically, the older adults with a lower fall-risk hardly experienced the illusion, whereas those with a higher fall-risk experienced it with a shorter latency and no weaker than the younger adults. These results suggest that in older adults, the mechanism of multisensory integration for constructing body perception can change depending on the stimulated body parts, and that the risk of falling is associated with multisensory integration.


Author(s):  
Heeeun Jung ◽  
Miji Kim ◽  
Yunhwan Lee ◽  
Chang Won Won

Frailty is defined as a state of increased vulnerability to stressors, and it predicts the disability and mortality in the older population. This study aimed to investigate standardized prevalence and multidimensional risk factors associated with frailty among the Korean community-dwelling older adults. We analyzed the baseline data of 2,907 adults aged 70&ndash;84 years (mean age 75.8&plusmn;3.9 years, 57.8% women) in the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study. The Fried frailty phenotype was used to define frailty. Analyzed data included sociodemographic, physical, physical function, biological, lifestyle, health condition, medical condition, psychological, and social domains. Data were standardized using the national standard population composition ratio based on the Korean Population and Housing Census. The standardized prevalence of frailty and pre-frailty was 7.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.8&ndash;8.9%) and 57.2% (95% CI 45.1&ndash;48.8%), respectively. The following 14 risk factors had a significant association with frailty: at risk of malnutrition, sarcopenia, severe mobility limitation, poor social capital, rural dwellers, depressive, poor self-perceived health, polypharmacy, elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, elevated glycosylated hemoglobin, low 25-hydroxy vitamin D level, longer timed up and go, and low short physical performance battery score (p&lt;0.05). Physico-nutritional, psychological, sociodemographic, and medical factors are strongly associated with frailty.


Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Gerhardy ◽  
Katharina Gordt ◽  
Carl-Philipp Jansen ◽  
Michael Schwenk

Background: Decreasing performance of the sensory systems’ for balance control, including the visual, somatosensory and vestibular system, is associated with increased fall risk in older adults. A smartphone-based version of the Timed Up-and-Go (mTUG) may allow screening sensory balance impairments through mTUG subphases. The association between mTUG subphases and sensory system performance is examined. Methods: Functional mobility of forty-one community-dwelling older adults (>55 years) was measured using a validated mTUG. Duration of mTUG and its subphases ‘sit-to-walk’, ‘walking’, ‘turning’, ‘turn-to-sit’ and ‘sit-down’ were extracted. Sensory systems’ performance was quantified by validated posturography during standing (30 s) under different conditions. Visual, somatosensory and vestibular control ratios (CR) were calculated from posturography and correlated with mTUG subphases. Results: Vestibular CR correlated with mTUG total time (r = 0.54; p < 0.01), subphases ‘walking’ (r = 0.56; p < 0.01), and ‘turning’ (r = 0.43; p = 0.01). Somatosensory CR correlated with mTUG total time (r = 0.52; p = 0.01), subphases ‘walking’ (r = 0.52; p < 0.01) and ‘turning’ (r = 0.44; p < 0.01). Conclusions: Supporting the proposed approach, results indicate an association between specific mTUG subphases and sensory system performance. mTUG subphases ‘walking’ and ‘turning’ may allow screening for sensory system deterioration. This is a first step towards an objective, detailed and expeditious balance control assessment, however needing validation in a larger study.


2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (Supplement_4) ◽  
pp. iv18-iv27
Author(s):  
Tsuyoshi Asai ◽  
Kensuke Oshima ◽  
Yoshihiro Fukumoto ◽  
Shogo Misu

Abstract Aim To elucidate the association between the occurrence of falls and timed “up and go” (TUG) test score in a dual-task condition among community-dwelling older adults by age group. Methods This longitudinal observation study included 987 community-dwelling older adults at baseline. A TUG test (single-TUG) and a TUG test while counting aloud backward from 100 (dual-TUG) were conducted at baseline. The dual-task cost (DTC) value was computed from these results. Data on fall history were obtained using a self-administered questionnaire at the 1-year follow-up. At follow-up, 322 participants had dropped out and six participants had missing data for falls. The final analysis included 658 individuals (follow-up rate: 658/987, 67%) divided into a young-older adult group (aged 60–74 years) and an old-older adult group (aged 75 years or older). Associations between the occurrence of falls and TUG-related values were analyzed by age group using multivariate logistic regression models. Results For old-older adults, there were significant associations between the occurrence of falls and DTC value (odds ratio [OR] 0.981, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.963–0.999, p = 0.040) and single-TUG score (OR 1.129, 95% CI: 1.006–1.268, p = 0.039). However, no significant associations were observed for young-older adults. Conclusions Slower single-TUG test score and lower DTC value are associated with the occurrence of falls among old-older adults but not among young-older adults. Dual task assessment is useful for predicting falls in TUG fall assessment for old-older adults.


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