@article{ref1,
title="Evaluation of risk of falls in patients at a memory impairment outpatient clinic",
journal="Geriatrics and gerontology international",
year="2009",
author="Kikuchi, Reiko and Kozaki, Koichi and Iwata, Akiko and Hasegawa, Hiroshi and Toba, Kenji",
volume="9",
number="3",
pages="298-303",
abstract="AIM: We investigated the usefulness of the fall-predicting score, a simple screening test to identify patients at high risk of falls in outpatients with cognitive impairment. METHODS: This was a 1-year prospective study. Seventy-nine patients (28 men and 51 women, 78.1 +/- 5.9 years old) in the Memory Impairment Outpatient Clinic of Kyorin University Hospital. History of falls in the past year, record of falls in the follow-up period (1 year), fall-predicting score, time of standing on one foot, timed Up & Go test, tandem gait, functional reach, grip strength, maximum circumference of the legs and blood laboratory tests were measured. RESULTS: Of the 79 subjects, 38 (48.1%) had experienced falls in the past year, and 29 (36.7%) experienced falls during the follow-up period. Comparing the two groups with and without a history of falls during the follow-up period, a significant difference was observed in fall-predicting score, timed Up & Go test, tandem gait and functional reach. Logistic regression analysis revealed that fall-predicting score was the only significant determinant for predicting future falls. Furthermore, fall-predicting score correlated with timed Up & Go, duration of standing on one foot, functional reach, grip strength and tandem gait. When the chi(2)-test was performed to investigate the correlation between individual items of the fall-predicting questions and falls during the follow-up period, &quot;Do you use a stick when you walk?&quot; and &quot;Are there any obstacles in your house?&quot; showed a significant difference (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Fall-predicting score is useful as a screening test to predict future falls in patients with cognitive decline.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1444-1586",
doi="10.1111/j.1447-0594.2009.00539.x",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1447-0594.2009.00539.x"
}