Citation

Mahoney JR, Oh-Park M, Ayers E, Verghese J. Gait Posture 2017; 58: 183-187.

Affiliation

Division of Cognitive and Motor Aging, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Bronx, NY, USA; Division of Geriatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, The Department of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.gaitpost.2017.07.115

PMID

28797962

Abstract

Poor balance and balance impairments are major predictors of falls. The purpose of the current study was to determine the clinical validity of baseline quantitative static trunk sway measurements in predicting incident falls in a cohort of 287 community-dwelling non-demented older Americans (mean age 76.14±6.82years; 54% female). Trunk sway was measured using the SwayStar™ device, and quantified as angular displacement in degrees in anterior-posterior (pitch) and medio-lateral (roll) planes. Over a one-year follow-up period, 66 elders (23%) reported incident falls. Anterior-posterior angular displacement was a strong predictor of incident falls in older adults in Cox proportional hazards models (hazard ratio adjusted for age, gender, education, RBANS total score, medical comorbidities, geriatric depression scale score, sensory impairments, gait speed, and history of fall in the past 1year ((aHR)=1.59; p=0.033) whereas, angular displacement in the medio-lateral plane was not predictive of falls (aHR=1.35; p=0.276). Our results reveal the significance of quantitative trunk sway, specifically anterior-posterior angular displacement, in predicting incident falls in older adults.

Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Language: en

Keywords

Aging; Falls; Older adults; Static balance; Trunk sway