Comparison of the Fullerton Advanced Balance Scale, Mini-BESTest, and Berg Balance Scale to Predict Falls in Parkinson Disease

Background The correct identification of patients with Parkinson disease (PD) at risk for falling is important to initiate appropriate treatment early. Objective This study compared the Fullerton Advanced Balance (FAB) scale with the Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test (Mini-BESTest) and Berg Balance Scale (BBS) to identify individuals with PD at risk for falls and to analyze which of the items of the scales best predict future falls. Design This was a prospective study to assess predictive criterion-related validity. Setting The study was conducted at a university hospital in an urban community. Patients Eighty-five patients with idiopathic PD (Hoehn and Yahr stages: 1–4) participated in the study. Measurements Measures were number of falls (assessed prospectively over 6 months), FAB scale, Mini-BESTest, BBS, and Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale. Results The FAB scale, Mini-BESTest, and BBS showed similar accuracy to predict future falls, with values for area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.68, 0.65, and 0.69, respectively. A model combining the items “tandem stance,” “rise to toes,” “one-leg stance,” “compensatory stepping backward,” “turning,” and “placing alternate foot on stool” had an AUC of 0.84 of the ROC curve. Limitations There was a dropout rate of 19/85 participants. Conclusions The FAB scale, Mini-BESTest, and BBS provide moderate capacity to predict “fallers” (people with one or more falls) from “nonfallers.” Only some items of the 3 scales contribute to the detection of future falls. Clinicians should particularly focus on the item “tandem stance” along with the items “one-leg stance,” “rise to toes,” “compensatory stepping backward,” “turning 360°,” and “placing foot on stool” when analyzing postural control deficits related to fall risk. Future research should analyze whether balance training including the aforementioned items is effective in reducing fall risk.

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Accuracy of Fall Prediction in Parkinson Disease: Six-Month and 12-Month Prospective Analyses

Parkinson s Disease ◽

10.1155/2012/237673 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2012 ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Ryan P. Duncan ◽

Abigail L. Leddy ◽

James T. Cavanaugh ◽

Leland E. Dibble ◽

Terry D. Ellis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pilot Study ◽

Parkinson Disease ◽

Roc Curve ◽

Fall Risk ◽

Roc Curves ◽

Berg Balance Scale ◽

Likelihood Ratios ◽

Fall Prediction ◽

Functional Gait ◽

Prospective Analyses

Introduction. We analyzed the ability of four balance assessments to predict falls in people with Parkinson Disease (PD) prospectively over six and 12 months.Materials and Methods. The BESTest, Mini-BESTest, Functional Gait Assessment (FGA), and Berg Balance Scale (BBS) were administered to 80 participants with idiopathic PD at baseline. Falls were then tracked for 12 months. Ability of each test to predict falls at six and 12 months was assessed using ROC curves and likelihood ratios (LR).Results. Twenty-seven percent of the sample had fallen at six months, and 32% of the sample had fallen at 12 months. At six months, areas under the ROC curve (AUC) for the tests ranged from 0.8 (FGA) to 0.89 (BESTest) with LR+ of 3.4 (FGA) to 5.8 (BESTest). At 12 months, AUCs ranged from 0.68 (BESTest, BBS) to 0.77 (Mini-BESTest) with LR+ of 1.8 (BESTest) to 2.4 (BBS, FGA).Discussion. The various balance tests were effective in predicting falls at six months. All tests were relatively ineffective at 12 months.Conclusion. This pilot study suggests that people with PD should be assessed biannually for fall risk.

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Efeitos funcionais da prática de dança em idosos

Revista Brasileira de Fisiologia do Exercício ◽

10.33233/rbfe.v13i1.3288 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 43

Author(s):

Paulo Costa Amaral

Keyword(s):

Parkinson Disease ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Berg Balance Scale ◽

Balance Scale ◽

Disease Rating

Objetivo: O presente estudo analisou os efeitos funcionais da prática de dança em idosos abordados na literatura científica. Métodos: Foram utilizadas as palavras-chave “elderly” combinação com os termos “dance” e “functional effects”, na base de dados Pubmed, para o levantamento científico. O período considerado para essas buscas foi de 2003 a 2013. Resultados: A partir de oito artigos selecionados, verificou-se que a prática de dança estava presente nos estudos relacionados à Doença de Parkinson (DP), predominando a utilização dos testes de Escala Unificada de Avaliação da Doença de Parkinson (Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale-Motor) e Escala de Equilíbrio de Berg (Berg Balance Scale), destacando melhoras significativas no equilíbrio dos participantes dos programas de dança, e a predominância do ritmo tango na maioria dos estudos. Conclusão: Programas de dança voltados aos idosos provocam melhoras significativas na capacidade funcional de seus participantes, principalmente aos idosos portadores da Doença de Parkinson, destacando a variável equilíbrio.Palavras-chave: idoso, dança, doença de Parkinson.

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Psychometric properties of the Berg balance scale in idiopathic Parkinson’ disease in the drug off-phase

Neurological Sciences ◽

10.1007/s10072-018-3570-4 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 39 (12) ◽

pp. 2175-2181 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Ghorban Taghizadeh ◽

Pablo Martinez-Martin ◽

Seyed-Mohammad Fereshtehnejad ◽

Seyed Amirhasan Habibi ◽

Negar Nikbakht ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parkinson Disease ◽

Psychometric Properties ◽

Berg Balance Scale ◽

Balance Scale ◽

Idiopathic Parkinson Disease

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The functional assessment Berg Balance Scale is better capable of estimating fall risk in the elderly than the posturographic Balance Stability System

Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria ◽

10.1590/s0004-282x2013000100003 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 71 (1) ◽

pp. 5-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Vanessa Vieira Pereira ◽

Roberto Alcantara Maia ◽

Sonia Maria Cesar de Azevedo Silva

Keyword(s):

Functional Assessment ◽

Fall Risk ◽

The Elderly ◽

Berg Balance Scale ◽

Old People ◽

Falls Risk ◽

Functional Balance ◽

Balance Scale ◽

Recurrent Falls ◽

Balance Stability

The purpose of this study was to verify which instrument better identifies recurrent falls in the elderly. Ninety-eight old people, with an average age of 80±4 years, were submitted to an assessment of balance and fall risk by means of the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and the posturographic Balance Stability System (BSS). The BBS was correlated with the BSS (r=-0.27; p=0.008), age (r=-0.38; p<0.001) and number of falls (r=-0.25; p=0.013) and the analysis of logistical regression showed that the elderly classified with fall risk on the BBS presented 2.5 (95%CI 1.08-5.78) more chance of identifying who had two falls or more over the last year. The BBS identified that the greater the age the worse the functional balance and demonstrated a greater capacity to identify falls risk suffered over the last year when compared with the BSS.

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